National Basketball Association
North Carolina 93, Louisville 84
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 24, 2013
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Officials:
# Brian Dorsey, # Bryan Kersey, # Brian O'Connell
Attendance:
N/A
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 19 North Carolina 93, No. 2 Louisville 84: Marcus Paige scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Tar Heels to the upset of the defending national champion Cardinals in the championship game of the Hall of Fame Tipoff at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.
Kennedy Meeks had 13 points to go along with game highs of 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Brice Johnson added 13 points for North Carolina (4-1). Paige, who had 26 points in the Tar Heels' 82-72 semifinal win over Richmond, became the first North Carolina player since Harrison Barnes in 2011 to have back-to-back 25-plus point games.
Russ Smith had a career-high 36 points, 22 in the first half, for Louisville (5-1), which had its school-record 21-game win streak snapped. Chris Jones scored 20 points, Luke Hancock finished with 10 points and Chane Behanan added seven points and nine rebounds for the Cardinals, who shot just 38.8 percent from the floor.
Louisville, which manged just two points in the first 7:27 of its 71-57 semifinal win over Fairfield, jumped out to an 18-10 lead as Smith scored 11 points in the first five minutes alone. But North Carolina gradually chipped away and took a 37-36 lead lead on two free throws by Paige, who also hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer that tied it at halftime.
Jones hit back-to-back jumpers to start the second half to give Louisville a 48-44 advantage, but the Tar Heels answered with an 8-0 run to take the lead for good. Louisville got as close as 54-53 on a pair of free throws by Hancock before North Carolina, repeatedly taking advantage of fast break opportunities created by Meeks' long outlet passes, pulled away with a 29-15 run.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville, which came into the game leading the nation in fewest turnovers per game (7.8), had nine in the first half alone en route to tying its season high of 14 ... North Carolina once again played without two of its best wing players, P.J. Hairston and Leslie McDonald, who are suspended indefinitely while the NCAA sorts out some eligibility issues pertaining to potential extra benefits. ... Louisville finished with a season-low three assists.
Top Game Performances
North Carolina |
|
Louisville |
Marcus Paige 32 |
Scoring |
Russ Smith 36 |
Kennedy Meeks 7 |
Assists |
Luke Hancock 2 |
Kennedy Meeks 12 |
Rebounds |
Montrezl Harrell 10 |
Marcus Paige 11 |
Free Throws Made |
Russ Smith 8 |
Marcus Paige 2 |
Steals |
Chane Behanan 1 |
Brice Johnson 2 |
Blocks |
Montrezl Harrell 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
North Carolina
|
93 |
54.2 |
3-6 |
26-38 |
18 |
35 |
2 |
4 |
14 |
Louisville
|
84 |
38.8 |
11-31 |
21-25 |
8 |
33 |
4 |
5 |
14 |