North Carolina had played several top teams and failed to beat any of them. The Tar Heels needed a win over No. 18 UCLA, who had won nine straight, to improve their NCAA Tournament resume. They got it as the Heels rallied from 16 points down in the second half to nip the Bruins 76-74 in the wild last few minutes at Madison Square Garden in New York. (12/21)
Carolina had comeback from big deficits in other games but came up short. After UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau hit back-to-back threes, the Tar Heels trailed 59-43 with less than 13 minutes to play and it looked bleak. But Bilodeau, who got in foul trouble, only managed two more points the rest of the way.
UNC coach Hubert Davis said the experiences of the recent past in losses to Kansas, Auburn, Michigan State and Alabama helped this time. “We remembered the small details,” he said, adding that his team fought possession to possession in the second half.
Freshman Ian Jackson, who was playing in his hometown and scored a season-high 24 points, agreed. “We chipped away piece by piece instead of trying to hit the home run,” he said “We got stops down the stretch until it was time to knock down the door and win, and we did it.”
Carolina, which shot only 35 percent from three, managed two big ones – one by Drake Powell and one by Seth Trimble – to claw back to within seven points.
A 10-1 Tar Heel run, capped by a step-back long two by Jackson, pulled the team within a point at 66-65 with 5:40 to go.
It took a while to tie it, which Jalen Washington did at 72-all by putting in a Trimble miss with 90 seconds left.
With a chance to take the lead, UNC’s RJ Davis was called for a charge and then seconds later was called for a block, which resulted in a pair of free throws for UCLA. It was a rough stretch for Davis who missed the first of two free throws before drawing the Heels within one at 74-73 with the second with 22 seconds to go.
On the inbounds play, defensive pressure from Trimble caused Dylan Andrews to lose the ball out of bounds off his leg. With 13.6 seconds left, Davis was fouled as he drove to the basket.
This time Davis came through with two free throws to give Carolina its first lead since the first minute of the game. UCLA’s Sebastian Mack aggressively attacked the basket in the closing seconds but a short turnaround in the lane banged off the back rim. Elliot Cadeau came down with it and Powell controlled it and was fouled with less than a second to go.
Powell hit the first free throw and missed the second as a desperation heave came up well short and the UNC celebration began.
“We needed one stop,” Coach Davis said noting that the Heels had not got the one stop they needed in the earlier losses. “We got it today.”
Jackson said it felt like a home game while Coach Davis said he’d like to play half the games in Chapel Hill and half at Madison Square Garden.
“We fought extremely hard,” Jackson said. “Our toughness showed at the end of the game.”
Joining Jackson in double figures were Davis, who had 17, and Trimble, who added 12.
Bilodeau’s season-high 26 points led the Bruins, who fall to 10-2.
The Tar Heels, who improve to 7-5 on the season, take on Campbell at home after Christmas.