Portland played host for a rematch from last year’s NCAA Tournament on Friday, when the ninth-ranked UNC men’s basketball team knocked off the Arkansas Razorbacks 87-68 in the Semifinals of the PK80 Invitatational.
Junior forward Luke Maye led the way for the Tar Heels, as he poured in a career-high 28 points and 16 rebounds to go along with a team-high five assists.
In addition to Maye’s big game, Kenny Williams chipped in 18 points and eight rebounds.
Point guard Joel Berry–who was at the center of a controversial call during the final minute of last year’s NCAA Second Round game between the two teams–scored 13 points as the only other UNC player to reach double figures.
The Tar Heels (5-0) shot just under 50 percent in the game, and dominated the Razorbacks on the glass with a 47-31 advantage in the rebounding department.
Arkansas sprinted out to an early six-point lead as UNC missed eight of its first nine shots, but it didn’t take long for Maye and the rest of the Tar Heels to get it going offensively.
On the other end, a stellar defensive effort from the Tar Heels limited Arkansas to just 37 percent shooting–and below 80 points for the first time all season.
By halftime, UNC had extended the lead past double digits and appeared on the verge of blowing things wide open.
The Razorbacks managed to pulled within seven points midway through the second half, however, as head coach Mike Anderson’s squad–which has six seniors–refused to go down without a fight.
Berry and Williams simply proved to be too much to handle down the stretch, supplementing Maye’s early production by each finding ways to step up and make plays any time the Tar Heels needed to stomp out a run.
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As a result, UNC advanced to Saturday’s championship game, where it will face the winner of Friday night’s game between No. 4 Michigan State and UCONN.
Photo via Timothy J. Gonzalez (Associated Press)
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