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It was a comeback for the ages and just as impressive as a response.
North Carolina took a haymaker, went down, but got up off the mat. After blowing a 25-point lead in the final 10 minutes of regulation, Hubert Davis’ Tar Heels responded in overtime, knocking off top-seeded Baylor, 93-86, in an East Region second-round game.
The No. 8 Tar Heels dominated the defending national champions in the extra session and now move on to an unlikely Sweet 16 after spending a good portion of the year on the bubble in Davis’ first season as the North Carolina head coach.
R.J. Davis, the White Plains native out of Archbishop Stepinac, had the biggest play of the extra session, a traditional three-point play with 1:18 left to push the lead to six. The sophomore scored a career-high 30 points and added six assists and five rebounds.
Dontrez Styles’ 3-pointer on the first possession of overtime gave North Carolina an early lead in overtime. Baylor got even on Jeremy Sochan’s layup with 3:02 to go, but only managed a free throw until the final seconds and the result all but decided.
Baylor went on an insane run, going from down 25 with 10:49 left to within a single possession with 1:48 to go. Armando Bacot’s three-point play with 1:37 left stunned Baylor’s momentum, but the Bears got back to three after a Sochan 3-pointer with 28.7 seconds left. After Bacot missed two free throws, Akinjo’s 3-point play pulled Baylor even at 80 with 15.8 seconds to go. RJ Davis front-rimmed a long 3-pointer, forcing overtime.
The game started to turn after forward Brady Manek (26 points) was ejected, assessed with a flagrant 2 foul, with 10:08 remaining for an elbow to Sochan’s face after a missed shot. It was 38-13 in Baylor’s favor the rest of regulation.
It seemed poised to equal the largest come-from-behind victory in NCAA Tournament history as the teams headed for overtime. But North Carolina responded like it did down the stretch of the season, and became the first team to advance to the second weekend of the tournament.
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