North Carolina starts the Michael Malone coaching era with an 80-72 season-opening win over Western Carolina, avoiding an upset after a late Catamount surge. Multiple outlets describe a tightly contested game that required a late push to create distance.
Yahoo Sports and the AP report that Matt Able leads the Tar Heels with 18 points (one outlet cites 17), with Terrence Brown scoring 14 and Neo Avdalas adding 13. Yardbarker frames the debut as a “shaky start,” while Yahoo Sports highlights how UNC’s late effort prevents Western Carolina from spoiling the opener.
Across reports, the shared emphasis is on the outcome and key performers, plus the game’s closeness late on. The main differences are how outlets characterize the debut—ranging from tense and shaky to simply a narrow start—and minor variation in Able’s scoring total.
