Baylor falls to North Carolina in OT, ending tournament run

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Th top-seeded Baylor Bears had a tough draw in the second round of the NCAA tournament, taking on a North Carolina team that had won seven of its last eight games.

The Bears jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Tarheels used a 14-2 run to take a 14-6 lead just over five minutes into the game.

North Carolina continued to control the next five minutes of the first half, leading Baylor 24-10 with 11:30 left in the half.

Back-to-back threes from Matthew Mayer and Dale Bonner helped Baylor pull back within ten.

The Bears continued to claw their way back in the game, narrowing the deficit to 29-22 with under seven minutes left in the first.

UNC stayed hot through the rest of the half, and Baylor trailed 42-29 at the break.

With just under 16 minutes left in the game the Bears trailed by 14 points, but a James Akinjo three brought them back within 11 and gave Baylor fans some hope.

That glimmer of hope was short-lived. North Carolina responded to the three by going on a 13-0 run and taking a 24 point lead, 62-38.

Baylor trailed by as many as 25 points, but with just under ten to play the Bears woke up, scoring eleven points in under two minutes to make it 67-53.

By the five-minute mark Baylor had inched even closer, trailing by just nine with plenty of basketball to be played.

By the three minute mark, the difference was just six, with Baylor trailing 73-67.

An Akinjo And-1 made it a three point game with just under two minutes left in the game.

With just 16 seconds left, Akinjo had another and-1 opportunity, making the free throw to tie things up at 80 apiece.

North Carolina’s shot at the buzzer would not fall sending the game to overtime!

Baylor’s luck ran out in the extra period and the Tarheels beat the Bears 93-86, eliminating the Bears from the NCAA Tournament.

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