UNC Forces Overtime Battle Against Ohio State

New York – In the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, the North Carolina Tar Heels (8-4) overcame a sizable hole to win in a  thrilling game  89-84 over the No. 23 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-3)

Their first out-of-conference win this year against the Buckeyes resulted in  Armando Bacot, a tremendous big man for the Tar Heels, having a season- and game-high 28 points, hitting 11 of 19 shots, and adding 15 rebounds. Caleb Love scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and overtime, made four clutch 3-pointers, and provided seven assists. RJ Davis scored 21 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while Nance chipped in with eight points and ten boards.

With 7:14 remaining in the second half, Ohio State held a 66-55 advantage after taking a 44-35 lead before halftime and extending that lead to 11 points later. Brice Sensabaugh, a rookie for Ohio State, led his team as he ended the game with 22 points and eight rebounds. However, North Carolina steadily reduced the deficit due to the offensive contributions of Love, Davis, and Bacot.

Sensabaugh made a soft jump shot with two seconds left in the 4th quarter, putting UNC down two points. With 1.2 seconds left, the Tar Heels quickly passed to half-court and called timeout with two timeouts remaining.

On the subsequent inbound, Leaky Black threw an excellent pass to Pete Nance, who calmly sank a fade-away jump as time ran out to tie the score at 79, forcing overtime.

UNC overturned a 14-point deficit from earlier in the game within the game’s last minutes. With 11.9 seconds remaining and trailing by three points in overtime, Buckeye Zed Key had a travel call, sealing Ohio State’s losing fate. North Carolina outscored the worn-out Buckeyes 10-5 in overtime solidifying their win.

Watch UNC battle against Michigan in the Jumpman invitation hosted in Charlotte, NC at 7:00 PM, December 21st.

Feature image courtesy of UNC Athletics