Grant Nelson takes over late as Alabama gets by UNC in Sweet 16

The UNC basketball program falls in the Sweet 16 to Alabama as they can’t execute late.

North Carolina’s special season is officially over.

A year after not making the 2023 NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels bowed out in the Sweet 16, losing to Alabama 89-87 on Thursday.

It was a game that saw both teams make several runs throughout, but in the end it was a 7-0 run from Grant Nelson of the Crimson Tide that was the factor. The Tar Heels had no answer for Nelson as he helped Alabama battle back from a three-point deficit late in the game.

Nelson finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds in the game, making key plays at the end including getting a big and-one and coming up with a few blocks. His size was a mismatch for North Carolina who couldn’t put a smaller guard like Seth Trimble or Elliot Cadeau on him and instead tried Paxson Wojcik and Jae’Lyn Withers at times.

With North Carolina up 85-82, Alabama got a quick layup from Mark Sears to cut the lead to one. From there, Jae’Lyn Withers three-pointer with 15 seconds on the shot clock and a one-point game did not fall. And it was all Alabama after that.

Withers then fouled Nelson for the and-one as he hit that free throw, then blocked RJ Davis’ layup and would go on to make two more free throws to seal it.

After a back-and-forth first half, UNC took a 54-46 lead into halftime. But the second half proved to be a big negative for the Tar Heels.

UNC shot just 25 percent in the second half which was the worst shooting performance since shooting 22.6% in the second half against Kansas in the 2012 Elite Eight. It cost the Tar Heels as well as RJ Davis went 0-of-9 from the three-point line and 4-of-20 from the field in the game.

Armando Bacot led North Carolina with 19 points in his final game, adding 12 rebounds for another double-double. Cormac Ryan had 17 while Harrison Ingram finished with 12.

UNC finishes the season 29-8 and enters a big offseason.

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