March Madness: Alabama ends UNC’s run in 89-87 Sweet 16 thriller

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina’s NCAA tournament run ended Thursday night in an 89-87 loss to Alabama.

It was a scintillating game, played in Los Angeles at a high pace with plenty of drama. In the end, the Crimson Tide simply outlasted the Tar Heels.

Grant Nelson converted a go-ahead three-point play with 38 seconds remaining to lift Alabama past the top-seeded Tar Heels.

Nelson finished with a season-high 24 points, 19 in the second half, and he blocked RJ Davis’ attempt at a tying layup after giving Alabama the lead. Rylan Griffen added 19 points, tying his career high with five 3-pointers, and Aaron Estrada also scored 19 for the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide (24-11).

After Nelson blocked Davis’ shot with 25 seconds left, Davis furiously dribbled around before missing a layup and the Tar Heels got called for a shot-clock violation with 8 seconds left. They were forced to foul, sending Nelson to the line. He calmly made both for an 89-85 lead.

Armando Bacot scored inside with 1 second left, leaving North Carolina trailing 89-87. The Tar Heels fouled Nelson again with 0.9 seconds left. He missed both and time expired on the Tar Heels.

Bacot finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in his final game for UNC, which ended the season 29-8. Cormac Ryan had 17 points and made five 3-pointers and Davis had 16 points.

For Davis, it ended a splendid season in a nightmarish fashion. The ACC Player of the Year had his worst shooting night in memory, missing all nine of his 3-point attempts and making just 4-of-20 from the floor. Half his points came at the free throw line, where he made 8-of-9.

At times, UNC coach Hubert Davis looked like he was still playing for his alma mater, where he starred from 1988-92 under Hall of Famer Dean Smith. Davis dashed up and down the sideline in his white sneakers, gesturing and yelling and taking his glasses on and off as he lived each play through his team.

Alabama trailed 54-46 at halftime. Nelson and Sam Walters combined to score nine of Alabama’s first 13 points to take a 59-57 lead.

The Tar Heels struggled early when big man Bacot picked up his third foul five minutes in, but they tied it at 59-all on a basket by Harrison Ingram.

“I thought in the second half, we came out a little flat,” Bacot said.

Nelson, Estrada and Griffen teamed to score 21 of Alabama’s next 23 points that produced an 82-77 lead. Nelson ran off seven in a row, capped by a 3-pointer.

Carolina scored eight in a row, including six straight by Davis, to take its last lead, 85-82.

The Tar Heels opened the game on a 19-9 run for their largest lead of a half in which there were eight ties and seven lead changes.

Mark Sears went on a tear, scoring nine points – hitting a 3-pointer and turning to blow a kiss to the crowd – to help the Tide lead 39-34. Sears finished with 18 points.

North Carolina regained control with a 20-7 spurt to end the half ahead 54-46. Ryan and Ingram had two 3-pointers each and Bacot dunked, slithered around Mohamed Wague for a layup and scored off his own steal.

“At the end of the day, it boiled down to them making more shots than we did,” Bacot said.

– BOXSCORE

Alabama moves to the Elite Eight to face another ACC opponent in Clemson. Both Alabama and Clemson are in the Elite Eight for only the second time in their school histories.

The Tide face sixth-seeded Clemson on Saturday for a berth in the Final Four.

The Tigers got 18 points from Chase Hunter and converted a three-point play with 25.7 seconds remaining as Clemson beat Arizona 77-72 in the first West Region semifinal on Thursday night.

PJ Hall added 17 points for the Tigers.

“We’ve battled a lot of things. This is a great moment for Clemson basketball,” Coach Brad Brownell said.

NC State

Two weeks ago, 11th-seeded 14 NC State was on the outside of the tournament bubble and the dream run will continue against No. 2 seed Marquette.

Their game is on Friday at 7:09 p.m. on CBS.

“It’s been unbelievable actually like, it’s been something you’ve been dreaming of since you were a kid,” NC State point guard Michael O-Connell said Thursday. “These are the moments you kind of live for and you’ve been working for.”

The Wolfpack won its first basketball national title against Marquette in 1974. That team was led by David Thompson and Tommy Burleson and coached by Norm Sloan.

The Wolfpack’s seven-game win streak is the longest of head coach Kevin Keatts’ tenure.

“Honestly, it’s still, it hasn’t really all sunk in,” said NC State forward Ben Middlebrooks. “Every time after we win a game it’s on to the next one so we’re all still kind of living in the moment and trying to enjoy it and trying to stay focused.”

“We’re excited to be here in Dallas,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said Thursday. “Obviously, NC State presents a lot of challenges. They’re playing terrific basketball. I’ve known Kevin Keatts for a long, long time, have a ton of respect for him, so it will be an exciting opportunity for us tomorrow.”

Duke

The No.4 seed Duke Blue Devils are headed to the Sweet 16 to face No. 1 seed Houston, which narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of in-state rival Texas A&M on Sunday night.

“Feeling great, feeling confident going into the weekend with this team,” said Duke’s Jared McCain. “I’m just excited to play again.”

Duke reached the second weekend of March Madness for the 27th time in 39 tournaments since the event expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

“I think anytime you look at a really good defensive team, but for Houston, look, they, probably, if not the best defensive team in the country, they’re right there,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “And you have to talk about their effort. Their effort is terrific.”

One thing that got the Blue Devils this far was increasing their defensive intensity and holding their two opponents so far (Vermont and James Madison) well below their season scoring averages.

“I think our guys have shown throughout the year we’re a really good defensive team,” Scheyer said. “Sometimes when you have those couple of games that don’t go your way, you know, our guys, they don’t have to, you have to get over it quickly.”

The two teams will face off in the South Region on Friday at 9:39 p.m. on CBS.

“Any time you can get away, get out of the first week of the NCAA tournament, it’s a blessing,” said Duke center Mark Mitchell. “You’ve got to be proud of it, but obviously, we still have got things to work on.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.