New Faces Lead Scoring at UNC's Blue-White Scrimmage

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A first look at North Carolina’s revamped basketball roster was on display during the team’s Blue-White scrimmage on Saturday afternoon at the Smith Center.

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White, led by Caleb Wilson and Jonathan Powell’s unofficial 11-point efforts, defeated Blue 55-50 after a back-and-forth affair. The pair’s 22 points, including two threes from Powell and five made baskets from Wilson, helped the White outlast Blue in a two, 10-minute halves exhibition. 

Blue’s Luka Bogavac led all (unofficial) scorers with 14 points, including four made three-pointers. 

The White team jumped out to an early 15-7 lead thanks to Henri Vessar’s put-back layup on the game’s opening possession, before a pair of threes by Jaydon Young and Powell. Wilson also got his name in the scorebook early, muscling his way to the rim for an and-1 and knocking down a silky midrange fadeaway from the right corner. 

By halftime, Blue trailed 30-25, cutting into the deficit with a pair of Bogavac three-pointers. Forward Zayden High also knocked down a three from the top of the key before later getting to the rim with a pump fake and finishing a reverse layup near the end of the half. Sophomore James Brown added four points from the free throw line. 

The first half did not display clean basketball from either side, with several unforced turnovers drawing murmurs from the Smith Center crowd. Wilson rifled a pass straight out of bounds, Bogavac turned the ball over twice in transition, and sloppiness under the basket saw passes deflected or stolen. 

Another Bogavac three-pointer started the second half for Blue, while Seth Trimble tallied back-to-back baskets, including a walk-down three, to give the Blue squad its first lead of the afternoon. However, another Wilson fadaway — swished from the left wing — and an unguarded layup for John Holbrook tied the game at 36-36 by the eight-minute timeout. 

The two teams went back and forth for the remaining eight minutes, with Wilson being very effective offensively for the White team. He scored via a put-back dunk and a strong drive to the basket. It was Bogavac and Trimble who continued to supply most of the points for the Blue squad, 12 of them via threes in the second half. 

Trailing late, Blue was forced to foul, where Kyan Evans’ pair of made free throws iced the win for the White team.

NOTE: Freshman guards Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis, and sophomore center Ivan Matlekovic, did not play due to injuries.