No. 1 UNC drops second straight in quadruple OT loss to Bama

PORTLAND, OR – The 18th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1) must have been inspired against UNC by their exemplary Football teams’ victory over Auburn the previous day.

Thanks to 24 points from Junior Guard Mark Seals and Sophomore Center Charles Bediako’s 14 points and 16 rebounds, the 18th-ranked Tide defeated the top-ranked Tar Heels (5-2) by the score of 103-101, in the 3rd-Place Game of Phil Knight Invitational at Portland, Oregon. This was the second consecutive loss by the Heels.

On the loss, Davis reflected, “At the end of the day, Alabama made one more play than we did.” The Tar Heels coach added, “When I walked in the locker room, a number of the guys had their head down and I told them to pick their head up. I’m just as disappointed in the final outcome, but I’m proud of them for the way they competed.

On the other hand, Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats chuckled on the victory, describing it “as a fun one.” Oats added, “I don’t know if I’ve been involved in a four-overtime game before. I was losing track of how many overtimes we were in there at the end. A lot of credit to our guys. They showed a lot of character — we could have folded there.”

The Tide opened up the game with a 12-7 lead, until the Tar Heels went on a 9-0 run at 11:45 in the first half, to take the lead at 16-12. Afterwards, thanks to threes from Senior Jahvon Quinerly and Junior Mark Seals, the Tide never look back, as they led the Heels at the Half by the score of 37-34. Sears was 4-5 from three point range during the initial 20 minutes and scored 14 of his 24 points in the first half.

Alabama Freshman Forward Brandon Miller kicked off the second half, by making two free throws and hitting a three-pointer, on the way to Alabama starting the second half with a 7-0 run. Miller recovered from a horrendous first half, as he didn’t record any stats. Miller was in foul trouble throughout the game.

Once the media timeout occurred with a dozen minutes remaining, the Heels went on a 10-0 run, only for Alabama to keep it close. Sears made a three-pointer (his seventh of the game), then he later tied it with a free throw to send the game into overtime, with both teams being tied at 77 apiece.

Each team fought back and fourth during the four overtimes. Alabama prevailed in the fourth OT, as Bediako made a free throw and Bradley succeeded in making a dunk free-throw.

For UNC, the top performers were Senior Forward Armando Bacot with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Junior Guard Caleb Love with 34 points.

The game marked the Crimson Tide’s first victory over the Tar Heels since Thursday, November 30th, 1989, at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL. The Tide won 101-93.

The game was played at Portland Memorial Coliseum, with the attendance being 1,291.

The top-ranked Tar Heels travel to Bloomington, IN to face the Indiana Hoosiers in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge, in a 9:15 PM matchup on ESPN.