SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team opened its 2018-19 season on Tuesday, falling to No. 8 North Carolina 78-67 at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. A 12-3 run in the middle of the second half tied the game at 46-46, but Wofford could not keep up with the hot shooting of the Tar Heels, as North Carolina took an 11-point lead into the under-four minute media timeout, avenging its 2017 loss to the Terriers in Chapel Hill.

Four Terriers scored in double figures, led by Fletcher Magee's 21 points. Cameron Jackson nearly had a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine boards, while sophomore guard Storm Murphy totaled 15 points to go with six assists and Nathan Hoover contributed 12 points.

North Carolina had three players that scored 17 plus points in Luke Maye (24), Garrison Brooks (20) and Cameron Johnson (17).  Maye, who was named a third team All-American by the Associated Press as a junior, pulled down seven rebounds and went 8-for-9 from the free throw stripe.

Despite good ball movement and solid looks from the field, Wofford could not get the buckets to fall early, shooting just over 34 percent in the first half.

 "We ask our guys to have 15 assists," said Wofford coach Mike Young of the team's eight assists. "And if a few of our good looks fall, we are right there."

Both teams started the half slow, but the Tar Heels went on an 8-0 run to take a 24-12 lead with under eight minutes to play in the first.

"I thought we came out a little frantic to start the game, and that worried me," Young said. "But a lot of credit goes to North Carolina. It wasn't always stuff we didn't do, it was a lot of things that they did well to make things tough on us."

Wofford cut the deficit to five after Hoover drained a jumper, but a Brooks layup gave North Carolina a 33-26 lead at the break.

With 14:05 to play, Magee hit a pair of threes that sparked the Wofford run, as the Terriers looked to pull the upset for the second-straight year.

After Wofford knotted the game up at the 10:36 mark, North Carolina scored five unanswered and extended its lead to 11 courtesy of another Garrison layup. Back-to-back buckets from Magee and Jackson, followed by a pair of free throws from Magee pulled the Terriers to within five with 5:14 to play, but the Tar Heels sealed the game with buckets in the paint and at the free throw line.

 "When I look at that box score, that's a winning line," Young said. "We ask our guys to have less than 10 turnovers, and they had nine. I've got good players. I'm proud of their effort and I know I'll see that effort in the film."

Next up, Wofford hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to High Point on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip.