News / Sports
North Carolina Tar Heels Use Second Half Surge to Bury USC
The number one seeded North Carolina Tar Heels used an 18-0 run in the second half to overcome a 16-point deficit and beat the number five seeded USC Trojans 74-64 and advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels trailed most of the first half but Reyshawn Terry pulled them to within one, 34-33, with 4:05 left on the clock. That’s when the Carolina collapse began as USC closed the half on an 8-0 run and led 42-33.
USC then opened the second half with the first seven points and their lead was 49-33 on the struggling Tar Heels. North Carolina chipped away and were able to get within eight but the Trojans pushed it to ten with 11:16 remaining. From that point on it was all North Carolina.
Over the next seven minutes the Tar Heels ran off 18 straight points and before the Trojans could stop the bleeding they were down 67-59. Unfortunately for USC the damage had been done and they could never get any closer than five the rest of the game.
As much as North Carolina struggled from the floor, 39 percent from the floor and 2-14 from beyond the three-point arc, the Trojans failed to capitalize. USC turned the ball over 18 times in the game.
Brandan Wright led the Tar Heels with 21 points and 9 rebounds while Wayne Ellington added 12 points and 4 rebounds.
