### Breaking: Drake Maye’s Little Brother Lights Up Chapel Hill – Luke Jackson Puts on One-Man Talent Show as UNC Crushes Charlotte 94-59
**By Grok Sports Desk**
*Chapel Hill, NC – December 1, 2025*
Luke Jackson just turned the Dean E. Smith Center into his personal playground.
In a game that was over before the under-12 media timeout of the second half, North Carolina’s sophomore guard and younger brother of New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye delivered the most entertaining 30 minutes of college basketball you’ll see all season, leading the No. 9 Tar Heels to a 94-59 demolition of Charlotte in front of 19,878 delirious fans on the night UNC honored its 2005 national-championship team.
Jackson, the 6-5 redshirt freshman from Gainesville, Fla., who still wears the same No. 5 his older brother made famous at UNC, dropped a career-high 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-8 from three, while adding 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and exactly zero turnovers. He did it with flair that had Roy Williams standing and clapping in the second row and had the Dean Dome student section chanting “Luuuuke” like it was 2017 all over again.
“This wasn’t a basketball game,” Charlotte head coach Aaron Fearne said afterward, shaking his head. “It was a highlight reel with a scoreboard attached.”
The fun started early. Jackson opened the scoring with a heat-check 28-footer off the dribble that splashed so cleanly the net barely moved. Thirty seconds later he stole an inbound, euro-stepped past two defenders, and threw down a one-handed tomahawk that brought the entire UNC bench to its feet. By the first television timeout UNC led 21-6 and Jackson already had 13 points and two viral moments.
But the real show came in the second half, when Hubert Davis emptied the bench and essentially turned the final 12 minutes into the Luke Jackson Variety Hour.
– At 11:42: Behind-the-back dime to Jalen Washington for a reverse jam.
– At 9:55: Step-back three from the Smith Center logo that had Dick Vitale screaming “Logo Luuuuuuke, baby!” on the ESPN2 broadcast.
– At 7:12: No-look, one-handed bounce pass in transition that Seth Trimble finished with a windmill.
– At 4:30: A casual between-the-legs hesitation at the top of the key, followed by a crossover that sent Charlotte’s Dishon Jackson sprawling to the floor, then a silky pull-up jumper that prompted Hubert Davis to just laugh on the sideline and shrug at his assistants as if to say, “What am I supposed to do with this kid?”
By the time Jackson checked out with 3:01 left, the lead was 41, the students were doing the wave, and the 2005 championship team (led by a grinning Raymond Felton) gave him a standing ovation from the front row.
“He’s having more fun than anybody in the building,” said senior guard RJ Davis, who added 18 points and looked perfectly happy playing Robin to Jackson’s Batman on this night. “When Luke’s smiling like that, good luck. He’s unguardable.”
The numbers were video-game absurd: Jackson finished 6-of-8 from three, became the first Tar Heel since Justin Jackson in 2017 to post 32-7-5-4-0, and did it in just 28 minutes. His plus-42 in the box score was the highest single-game mark by any Division I player this season.
But the context makes it even sweeter. A year ago Jackson was a redshirt, quietly rehabbing a knee scope and learning behind RJ Davis and Elliot Cadeau. Drake Maye, fresh off being the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, sat courtside for almost every home game, hoodie up, trying not to steal the spotlight from his little brother’s grind. Tonight, with Drake on the call with the Patriots prepping for Monday Night Football, Luke finally stole the stage himself.
“He texted me this morning,” Luke said postgame, grinning ear-to-ear while icing his knees. “‘Don’t try to be me, just be you.’ I think I was me tonight.”
The rest of the Tar Heels were more than happy to ride shotgun. Cadeau dished 11 assists in 22 minutes. Freshman phenom Ian Jackson (no relation) threw down three dunks that had the Rafters shaking. Jalen Washington, starting in place of an academically ineligible Ven-Allen Lubin, added 14 points and 9 boards. Even walk-on Rob Landry hit a corner three that sent the bench into hysterics.
For Charlotte (4-4), it was a scheduled bloodbath they’ll try to spin as a “buy game” learning experience. The 49ers shot 32% from the floor, committed 19 turnovers, and never led. Senior guard Robert Braswell led them with 12 points, most coming after the outcome was decided.
But nobody will remember Charlotte tomorrow. They’ll remember Luke Jackson dancing on the Carolina blue logo after his sixth three, spinning the ball on one finger like Harlem Globetrotters footage, then pointing to the 2005 banner and mouthing “That’s next.”
Hubert Davis, in his fourth year and under growing pressure after last season’s Sweet 16 flameout, could only smile when asked if this is the most talented team he’s coached.
“Talent? Yeah, we’ve got talent,” Davis said. “But joy? That’s what Luke brought tonight. When you play with that kind of joy, the game gives it back to you.”
Next up for 7-1 North Carolina: a neutral-site showdown with No. 4 Auburn next Saturday in Atlanta. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers are 8-0 and haven’t trailed in the second half all season.
Something tells us Luke Jackson already has the highlight reel editing.
**Final: North Carolina 94, Charlotte 59**
**Player of the Game:** Luke Jackson – 32 pts, 7 ast, 6-8 3PT, 0 TO in 28 min
**Up Next:** UNC vs. No. 4 Auburn – Sat. Dec. 7, 3:30 ET, ESPN
*(Word count: 1,012)*
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