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Off the cuff: Florida State may be an average team but the Seminoles looked anything but a 10-10 team against the Tar Heels. At least Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who scored 35, looked anything but average.

 

Louisville 78, Tar Heels 68
Heels' balance bests FSU

A foul-plagued North Carolina team blew an 18-point second half lead and fell in overtime at Louisville, 78-68.(1/31)

The first time the two teams played, the situation was reversed as Carolina came from 13 down to win.

Up 43-25 in this one after JP Tokoto drove the baseline for two with 17:51 to play, the Tar Heels fell apart.

In less than three minutes, Louisville had cut the deficit under 10 points.

When Marcus Paige went out midway through the second half after he aggravated a foot injury, the Cardinal went on a 9-2 run to tie it at 53-53 with 8:20 to go.

Louisville got those nine points in just over a minute with two three pointers and an old-fashioned three.

A pair of Tokoto buckets put the Heels up by four as they kept Louisville from taking a lead in regulation. However, the Cardinal tied the score at 60-60 from the foul line with 3:13 to go.

A wild last three minutes yielded no points for either team. Louisville had a chance to win after Paige was stripped of the ball with 35 seconds left but Montrez Harrell, who keyed the comeback, missed a three pointer at the buzzer.

With big men Brice Johnson and Isaiah Hicks fouled out, the Tar Heels never led in overtime. Nate Britt fouled out in overtime and three other Carolina players ended the game with four fouls each.

Louisville shot an amazing 44 free throws, hitting 27 of them. Carolina was a mere 11 of 20 from the line.

Louisville, playing more aggressively in the second half, got 21 offensive rebounds compared to 12 for Carolina.

In the first half, Louisville jumped out to a 10-7 lead in the first four minutes after a pair of threes but the Tar Heels went on a 12-1 run to seize control of the game at 19-11.

Marcus Paige and Nate Britt hit threes to highlight the run.

A Tokoto 15-footer gave the Heels their first double-digit lead at 23-13. A pair of buckets by Kennedy Meeks - his first two shots of the game - put the Heels up by 14 at 32-18 before settling for a 36-25 halftime lead.

Carolina held Louisville to 26 percent shooting in the first half, scoring only seven field goals. Louisville finished at only 34 percent, compared to 43 percent for the Tar Heels.

The Tar Heels turned the ball over 19 times including six during a four-minute period where Louisville caught up in the second half. Paige led the Tar Heels with 15 points but he also committed five turnovers.

Carolina falls to 17-5 and 7-2 in the ACC while the Cardinal advance to 18-3 and 6-2 in the league.

The Tar Heels play at home against unbeaten Virginia Monday night.

Boxscore


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