Keita seals 78-76 exhibition win over No. 25 UNC

Keita finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and a block in the Cougars win over the Tar Heels.

Author Halle Taylor
Keita seals 78-76 exhibition win over No. 25 UNCKeita seals 78-76 exhibition win over No. 25 UNC

SALT LAKE CITY – Alongside his last-second block, Keba Keita recorded a double-double in No. 8 BYU’s 78-76 win over No. 25 North Carolina at the Delta Center on Friday night.

"I was proud of the overall toughness," head coach Kevin Young said. "This game was exactly what we needed. North Carolina gave us problems with their space and pace."

AJ Dybantsa led the Cougars in scoring for a second time in as many games as the freshman finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Keita had 16 points and 10 rebounds, seven of those coming on the offensive glass in 26 minutes of action going 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Richie Saunders and Robert Wright III also finsihed in double figures with 14 and 12 respectively. 

The Cougars only knocked down five 3-pointers in the victory shooting 41.5 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from 3-point range and 73.1 percent from the free throw line. They also forced 19 turnovers, nine more than they had in their first exhibition against Nebraska last weekend. 

First Half
The Tar Heels got on the board first with a jumper. After a fruitless possession, Dybansta blocked a UNC layup sending the ball the other way. Kennard Davis Jr. missed a three, but Wright III wouldn’t allow the Tar Heels to advance their lead as he recorded a takeaway and sent it up to Keita for a fast break layup to tie it up. 

Saunders recorded another takeaway for the Cougars resulting in a Keita tip-in layup after the senior’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim. After UNC made a pair of free throws, Wright III found Saunders for a 3-pointer to retake the lead. A pair of free throws from Wright III kept the Cougars in front, 9-6. 

It remained a 3-point game until Dybantsa was fouled on a corner three resulting in three free throws from the freshman forward. The Tar Heels tied the game at 18-all at 10:46 following a 8-0 run prompting Young to call a timeout. 

A Keita dunk off an inbound pass helped the Cougars retake the lead but the Tar Heels responded with four straight points. Saunders found Mihailo Boskovic for a three for another lead change, 23-22. 

Another 4-0 spurt for the visitors saw the Cougars trail before scoring six of the next eight points including a fastbreak dunk from Dybantsa. The native of Brockton, Mass. continued to score at the rim with another dunk to give BYU a 33-29 lead with a little more than four minutes remaining in the first half. 

Saunders scored four straight points for the Cougars to push the Cougars lead to six, 37-31. The Tar Heels scored four of the final six of the half as BYU led 39-35 after 20 minutes.

Second Half
Dybantsa opened the second half with a jumper from the elbow. UNC replied with a 3-pointer and after over two scoreless minutes, the Tar Heels got a dunk in transition. Keita then followed that up with another tip-in shot from inside the paint.

Following four consecutive Tar Heel points, Dybantsa kick-started a 8-2 run that featured a steal and dunk by guard Davis Jr. The run was capped by a contested 3-point jumper from Saunders.

The Cougars then traded a pair of free throws with the Tar Heels to make the score 53-50 BYU with 13:04 left to play. UNC tightened the lead to two after a fast break 3-pointer.

After going 2:31 without a point, Khadim Mpoub took advantage of a missed free throw with a tip-in layup, pushing the score 57-53. UNC followed suit ending their scoring drought with a driving layup. 

Off a missed layup by Keita, UNC evened the score at 59-all, marking the first tie since the five minute mark of the first half. Mboup knocked down a corner 3-pointer as BYU was up 64-61 heading into a Tar Heel timeout. 

A 7-0 UNC run helped them take the lead 68-64 with just over five minutes remaining. Wright III made a shot from inside the paint, and on UNC’s next possession, it travelled, giving the Cougars the ball.

With 3:39 on the clock, Davis Jr. hit a jumper over four defenders in the paint to even the score at 68 a-piece. The Southern Illinois transfer was fouled in the process and completed the old-fashioned 3-point play to help hte Cougars retake the lead. 

Davis Jr. made a corner 3-pointer off an assist from Wright III to take the lead back. After a driving layup from the Tar Heels, Wright made a driving layup of his own to restore a 3-point lead at 76-73.

A miss from UNC set up a foul with 22 seconds left to keep the Cougars from running the clock out. Wright made both to push the lead to 78-73.

A shooting foul was called on Dybantsa, setting the Tar Heels up for three foul shots, all of which were made, making it a two-point game. With 10 seconds left, Saunders was fouled and missed both of his free throw attempts, granting UNC time to send it to overtime and go for the win. In the dying seconds of the game, Keita blocked Seth Trimble's shot to avoid overtime and send BYU into the regular season on a winning note.  

Up Next
The Cougars open the 2025-26 season on Monday, Nov. 3 against Villanova in the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 MT on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max.