It finally happened...and not in a way Tar Heel Nation likes. On Friday night against Georgia, the UNC men's basketball team lost a late lead and its first game of season, 78-70.

North Carolina (3-1) trailed by seven points at halftime, then roared back to take a 9-point lead midway through the second half. UGA (4-0) slowly started chipping away, re-taking the lead at 69-68 on a Kanon Catchings free throw. The Tar Heels cut their deficit to two points on a Sayon Keita dunk, then the Bulldogs scored the game's final six points for a big road win.

The Tar Heels lost the rebounding battle again, a problem that has to be fixed if they want to beat higher-quality opponents like the Bulldogs. UNC grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to 18 for Georgia, a welcomed improvement, but allowed Catchings to record a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Terrence Brown continued showing why he'll be a valuable piece for North Carolina this season, scoring a team-high 21 points. Neo Avdalas played much better, scoring 14 points and stealing the basketball twice, but his four turnovers marked a game-high.

The Tar Heels have an entire week off before returning to the court, when they host Sun Belt opponent Marshall University at 9 p.m. on November 20. Until then, read our top five takeaways from the Georgia loss.

Perimeter defensive struggles loomed large

Perimeter defense is a long-standing issue for UNC. On Friday night, the Tar Heels allowed Georgia to make 14 3-pointers, which accounted for over half of its 78 points.

It's difficult to win games when you allow this many threes, a staple of today's basketball game. North Carolina has to defend the perimeter better next Friday.

On the other side...perimeter shooting struggles hurt UNC

UNC shot the basketball 38 times from 3-point land on Friday night, marking over 50 percent of its total attempts. If you're going to shoot threes that much, the idea is you're respectable from deep.

Matt Able struggled the most from deep, sinking just two of his 11 attempts. Able only attempted one shot inside the arc, trying to do his best Steph Curry impression.

9-of-38 just won't cut it as a team.

Isaiah Denis makes UNC better

Denis, a sophomore guard from Charlotte, rarely played during his freshman campaign. Now four games into Michael Malone's first year as head coach, Denis is showing how valuable he can be.

Denis scored 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench on Friday, his second-straight game in double figures. The Tar Heels are a guard-heavy team, but if Denis keeps playing like he did Friday night, he'll help them win several games.

UNC fails first true test

Make no mistake, the Bulldogs are a solid team. With two straight NCAA Tournament appearances under Mike White, UGA is starting to emerge as one of the SEC's better middle-of-the-pack programs.

Losing to the Bulldogs doesn't feel good, but it's nowhere near as embarrassing as the near-upset loss against Western Carolina. Still, the Tar Heels lost their first true test on Friday night, and it gave them their first loss of the season.

UNC has plenty to clean up, but it got a good test from a Power Four team on Friday night.

Jarin Stevenson has to find his groove again

Stevenson is UNC's Swiss army knife, bringing an ability to impact the game anywhere, but he needs to take that big step up during his final collegiate season.

Stevenson scored 25 points during North Carolina's preseason-opening win against USC. The Chapel Hill native scored just four points against Georgia and, through four regular season contests, has just one game in double figures (10 points vs. Wofford).

If Stevenson is able to find his scoring groove again, the Tar Heels will be a much better team.