Tar Heels lose late lead, fall apart in overtime

North Carolina’s Danny Green, left, hits the deck after drawing contact from Georgetown’s Jeff Green, right, during Sunday’s NCAA tournament game in East Rutherford, N.J. UNC’s Alex Stepheson is in the center. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

By Ed Miller
The Virginian-Pilot

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The team that wants to play faster than any other in the nation was in a terrible hurry.

This was not a good situation for No. 1 seed North Carolina. This was not the usual pedal-to-the-floor fun. This was desperation.

A 10-point lead had melted away. In overtime, nothing would fall. Quick shots led to 10, 11, 12 straight misses.

A game in the 90s, North Carolina’s comfort zone, instead turned into a coronation for supposedly slower Georgetown, which returned to the Final Four for the first time since 1985 with a 96-84 overtime win in the NCAA East Regional final on Sunday. The Hoyas (30-6) will meet Ohio State Saturday in Atlanta.

“It feels pretty good, I’ll tell you that. It feels pretty good,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said.

The No. 2 seed Hoyas trailed 75-65 with just more than six minutes left in regulation, but closed the game with a 31-9 run. Overtime went by in a blur of North Carolina misses. The Hoyas scored the first 15 points of the extra session.

North Carolina, the last ACC team standing in the tournament, finally got a shot to fall, a 3-pointer by Ty Lawson with eight seconds left. By then, attendants had been waiting in the wings for some time to set up a victory podium for the Hoyas.

“I love coaching my team,” a teary-eyed coach Roy Williams said. “I loved being with them. We just didn’t make enough shots down the stretch today.”

Georgetown specializes in spoiling fast-break fun. The Hoyas had held opponents under 60 points 25 times before Sunday’s game, with their deliberate offensive style and intimidating interior defense. But Sunday’s was a different kind of game for both teams.

The Hoyas opened by getting a backdoor layup, a signature play for them. North Carolina opened by getting its big man, Tyler Hansbrough, to the free throw line.

The Tar Heels’ early approach was not as technically pretty, and not as freewheeling, as their usual style. But for most of the first half, it was brutally effective. North Carolina punched the ball inside and swarmed the offensive boards, shooting 20 free throws to Georgetown’s five, and doubling the Hoyas’ rebound total, 22 to 11.

Georgetown had little trouble scoring as well, running its spread offense and shooting 59 percent in the half. But with UNC up 50-44 at the break, the Hoyas had already allowed more points in a half than they did in six complete games this year.

“We just had to find a way to stop their easy looks,” Thompson said.

Georgetown did, and North Carolina helped. After a tip-in by Deon Thompson with 9:54 left, the Tar Heels didn’t get another field goal for eight minutes. The Hoyas began going inside to 6-foot-9 Jeff Green and 7-2 Roy Hibbert, and preventing North Carolina from getting the easy second shots it did in the first 30 minutes.

A 3-pointer by Jonathan Wallace tied the game at 81 with 31 seconds left. North Carolina’s Wayne Ellington missed a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining.

Hansbrough opened overtime by missing a shot he was forced to lob uncomfortably high over Hibbert, who overcame foul trouble to finish with 13 points, and 11 rebounds.

Wallace scored on a layup and the overtime barrage was on.

“I mean, shots just weren’t falling,” Hansbrough said.

Hansbrough made just 6 of 15, but went 14 of 16 from the line to finish with 26 points. All five Georgetown starters scored in double figures, led by 22 from Green, the Big East Player of the Year.

Wallace scored 19, none bigger than the 3-pointer that tied the game in regulation, forcing an overtime that had fans chanting “We are Georgetown!” as the final seconds ticked away.

Williams sought out Wallace after the game and whispered in his ear as the Hoyas celebrated.

“I told him, 'You made a big-time shot. Congratulations, and good luck to you.’”