LOS ANGELES — Grant Nelson made a go-ahead 3-point play with 38 seconds left and Alabama defeated top-seeded North Carolina 89-87 on Thursday night to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight for the second time in school history. did.
Nelson scored a season-high 24 points and 19 in the second half to give Alabama the lead before blocking RJ Davis’ tying layup attempt. Rylan Griffen tied a career-high with 19 points on five 3-pointers, and Aaron Estrada also scored 19 points for the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide (24-11).
The Tide will play No. 6 seed Clemson on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four. The Tigers defeated second-seeded Arizona 77-72 in the first semifinal at Crypto.com Arena.
After Nelson blocked Davis’ shot with 25 seconds left, Davis dribbled around wildly and missed a layup, and the Tar Heels were called for a shot clock violation with eight seconds left. They were forced to foul and Nelson retreated to the line. Both scores were calm and they led 89-85.
Armando Bacot scored inside with one second left, giving North Carolina an 89-87 lead. With 0.9 seconds left, the Tar Heels fouled Nelson again. He missed both, running out the clock against the Blueblood Tar Heels, who own the national championship six times.
Bacot finished his last game at UNC (29-8) with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Cormac Ryan had 17 points and five 3-pointers, and Davis had 16 points.
UNC coach Hubert Davis sometimes looked like he was still playing at his alma mater, where he coached under Hall of Famer Dean Smith from 1988 to 1992. Davis lived each of his team’s plays, walking up and down the sideline in white sneakers, gesturing and shouting, putting on and taking off his glasses.
Alabama led 54-46 at halftime. Nelson and Sam Walters combined for nine of Alabama’s first 13 points, giving them a 59-57 lead. The Tar Heels struggled early with big man Bacot picking up his third foul in the first five minutes, but Harrison Ingram’s basket tied the score at 59-all.
Nelson, Estrada and Griffen combined for 21 of Alabama’s next 23 points to extend the lead to 82-77. Nelson made seven straight runs, ending with a 3-point shot.
Carolina took the final lead at 85-82 with eight consecutive points, including six by Davis.
The Tar Heels opened the game on a 19-9 run, with eight ties and seven lead changes, giving them their largest lead of the first half.
Mark Sears helped the Tide take a 39-34 lead with nine points, including hitting 3-pointers and turning to blow kisses to the crowd. Sears finished with 18 points.
North Carolina regained control with a 20-7 spurt and ended the first half with a 54-46 lead. Ryan and Ingram each made two 3-pointers, and Bacot dunked, slipped around Mohamed Wag for a layup and had a steal of his own.
