National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Iowa State 70, North Carolina 65
When: 5:30 PM ET, Friday, November 25, 2022
Where: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon
Officials: # DG Nelson, # Keith Kimble, # Lee Cassell
Attendance: 4431

Caleb Grill scored a game-high 31 points and Iowa State knocked off No. 1 North Carolina 70-65 at the Phil Knight Invitational on Friday in Portland, Ore.

Jaren Holmes added 22 for the Cyclones (5-0), who will play No. 20 UConn in the tournament championship on Sunday night. The Huskies beat the Crimson Tide 82-67 in the tournament semifinals on Friday.

R.J. Davis led North Carolina (5-1) with 15 points, Armando Bacot had 13 points with nine rebounds and Caleb Love scored 12.

Grill made the difference late for Iowa State with vital back-to-back jumpers.

First he hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 61 with 2:25 remaining. Gabe Kalscheur then had a steal for Iowa State and set up a jumper for Grill to give the Cyclones the lead, 63-61.

Strong defense and solid work from the free-throw line then helped Iowa State ice the victory. Iowa State led 70-63 before a layup at the buzzer by North Carolina cut the final score to five points.

North Carolina's 3-point shooting made a difference in the loss. The Tarheels went 3 for 18 from beyond the arc, while Iowa State hit 9 of 20 and used long-range shooting to fuel the upset.

The Tar Heels looked like they were in a position to cruise multiple times, but they kept getting tracked down the Cyclones.

It was 47-47 with 7:58 remaining before North Carolina went on an 11-4 run to take a seven-point lead, but Iowa State battled back.

North Carolina led 30-21 during the first half after a layup by Davis. Iowa State then closed the half on a 11-4 run to make it a two-point game, 34-32, in North Carolina's favor at halftime.

Iowa State had reached the semifinal of the invitational with an 81-79 overtime victory against Villanova. North Carolina had dispatched Portland 89-81 in that same round.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
North Carolina   Iowa State
RJ Davis 15 Scoring Caleb Grill 31
Caleb Love 3 Assists Tamin Lipsey 6
Armando Bacot 9 Rebounds Aljaz Kunc 6
RJ Davis 4 Free Throws Made Jaren Holmes 4
Puff Johnson 2 Steals Gabe Kalscheur 3
Armando Bacot 2 Blocks Caleb Grill 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
North Carolina 65 44.0 3-18 18-25 12 31 2 7 14
Iowa State 70 43.9 9-20 11-15 17 25 2 8 10