On Thursday night, UNC had the horses to run with Wisconsin. But they didn’t have stallions.

The Badgers did, and they rode them to victory.

A 19-7 Wisconsin run carried top-seeded Wisconsin (34-3) past UNC 79-72 in the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament. A Los Angeles crowd that included Billy Crystal, Cal Ripken Jr., Aaron Rodgers and Olivia Munn watched on as Sam Dekker paced the Badgers with 23 points, while Frank Kaminsky added 19.

Brice Johnson and Justin Jackson led UNC with 15 each. The Tar Heels finish the season 26-12.

The pivotal point in the game came when UNC led 53-46 with 11:00 remaining. Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker missed a three-pointer, and J.P Tokoto had a chance to put UNC up 9 in transition. But Tokoto ran into Bronson Koenig, no foul was called, and the Badgers proceeded to score consecutive three-point plays which triggered a 19-7 comeback run that would lead to victory. Coach Roy Williams talked about how the difference between winning and losing was so small.

“We had J.P. in the open court,” said Williams. “And we didn’t convert on that one and they came back and scored nine in a row. We got back in the game again and had it to one. We got them to miss a shot, but they chased down a rebound, threw it back out and gosh they made a big-time three.”

That shot by Josh Gasser put the Badgers ahead 68-64. Marcus Paige kept the pressure on late in the game, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers. But Koenig, Nigel Hayes and Kaminsky drained eight consecutive free throws down to the stretch to put the game out of reach.

Kaminsky, the All-American, missed his first four shots from the field. He also kept Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Johnson in foul trouble throughout the night.

Still, Paige felt UNC was solid defensively.

“We gave them trouble in both halves,” said Paige. “Our defensive pressure is something we talked about coming into this game. We wanted to pressure them, not allow them to be comfortable. We did that for the most part. The problem was, we couldn’t finish our defense in key possessions.”

Paige finished with 12 points.

The first half was evenly fought. Neither team led by more than five points and UNC shot 50 percent from the field.

In the end, UNC couldn’t hold on to a lead down the stretch, something Roy Williams says was a theme for this season.

“You have to congratulate Wisconsin,” said a teary-eyed Williams in the postgame press conference. “I’m tired of congratulating people. I feel like I’ve done that more this year than I’ve felt good about myself. Wisconsin has some really, really tough kids. Over the last couple of days, I watched the Michigan State game where they were beaten, but they won. Where Michigan led a huge portion of the game, but they won. I think the toughness they showed today was really something.”

It’s UNC’s first loss in the round of 16 since 1992, ending a streak of 12 in a row. But Roy Williams says his team continued to fight in this game, and throughout the year.

“(Wisconsin) has won 34 games for a reason,” said Williams. “But you know what? I’d still coach my kids because they’ve been something else this year. It’s been a hard year, but they’ve been some great kids.”