Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beater sends North Carolina home empty handed

HOUSTON — Marcus Paige wasn’t going to go out like that.

So he double-pumped and drained a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds to go and tied the national championship game against No. 2 Villanova.

But Kris Jenkins wasn’t going let Paige have the last word.

So he drained a buzzer-beating three that set the fireworks and streamers tumbling down from the sky at the NRG Stadium as Villanova defeated No. 1 North Carolina 77-74.

“Kris Jenkins lives for that moment,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said after the win.

The loss, UNC’s fifth in a national championship game, was Williams’ first as the Tar Heels’ head coach.

UNC (33-7) became rattled as the fouls mounted and shots stopped falling in the second half. With a little more than seven minutes remaining in the game, Villanova had outscored the Tar Heels 26-16 in the second half.

But aided by five points from Joel Berry II, the Tar Heels went on a 7-0 run late in the second half, but Booth halted that as he put Villanova up five with a bucket with 2:44 to go.

Despite a hot-shooting first half by Villanova, UNC led 39-34 at the break. Both teams shot over 50 percent, with UNC hitting 54 percent of its shots and the Wildcats knocking down 58 percent.

Before Monday night’s game, UNC was 22-1 this season when it shoots 50 percent or better.

Unlike Saturday’s game where UNC went 0-for-12 from beyond the arc before hitting a shot, the Tar Heels knocked down seven of nine first-half 3-pointers.

In a pretty even first half, UNC led for 8:08 while Villanova held the advantage for 6:04. The two teams were tied for 5:48.

Berry, who’s been the difference-maker for UNC in the postseason, scored 15 points on an efficient 6 of 7 shooting performance in the first half — his highest first-half total all season. Berry also hit all three of his first-half three-point attempts.

Down 23-22 with eight minutes to go in the first half, Berry scored 12 consecutive points for UNC beginning with a 3-pointer that gave the Tar Heels a two-point lead. At the end of Berry’s tear, UNC lead 34-30 with just less than two minutes to play in the half.

As UNC’s shots clanked off the rim, Villanova’s continued to fall.

With 6:33 remaining, Paige — who scored 21 points in the final game of his career —  elected to pull up for a 3-pointer instead of driving it in the post. The shot missed, and the Wildcats made the Heels pay with a 3-pointer of their own by Ryan Arcidiacono on the other end.

UNC endured long stretches of field goal droughts, twice going more than four minutes between buckets. The Wildcats built a 10-point lead with 5:29 to go.

Justin Jackson had the chance to get a few points back but missed both free throws with 2:44 to go to keep the deficit at five.

Unwilling to see his senior season to end, Paige drilled a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:30 to go to cut Villanova’s lead to three. Williams’ immediately called a timeout.

In the end, Nova and UNC traded off huge shots, but it was Jenkins’ prayer that sent the Heels home empty handed.

 

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