Villanova and North Carolina provided a wonderful appetizer on Thanksgiving afternoon, playing a thrilling back-and-forth game in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. It was ‘Nova Nation that headed into Thanksgiving dinner with a sweet taste in its mouth, as the Wildcats outlasted the Tar Heels 83-81 in overtime.
By the time the dust had settled, there had been 19 ties and 23 lead changes in the game as two strong teams traded blows.
Both teams got off to slow starts, with the ‘Cats starting just 1-4 and the Tar Heels hitting two of their first six. As such, there wasn’t much separation early. Villanova grabbed the first two-possession lead of the afternoon at 18-14 with 9:07 to play in the first half. But Carolina would respond with a 13-0 run to take a nine-point lead with 5:40 remaining. Villanova, however, answered right back, using a 10-0 push to retake the lead with under two minutes to play. A three just before the halftime buzzer would send the Tar Heels into the break with a two-point advantage.
The second half took a similar path.
The teams played within a possession or two of each other for the first few minutes of the period. It was again North Carolina that landed the first big blow, using a 15-4 push to match its largest lead of the game at nine with 10:52 to play. But Villanova once again responded immediately, this time with an 11-2 run to tie the game at 57 with 8:29 to play.
Here, we must mention a Villanova player who doesn’t get a ton of attention: Nnanna Njoku. The big man had a pair of huge defensive plays during Villanova’s 11-2 run, getting credited with a block and steal. A Carolina basket on either of those possessions could have altered the game significantly and perhaps ‘Nova isn’t able to climb all the way back to even.
Villanova was able to retake the lead with 6:23 to play on an Eric Dixon hook shot. Dixon was a monster on Thursday, pouring in a career-high 34 points while adding 10 rebounds.
“It’s amazing because we played a bunch of games early and everyone double teamed him,” Kyle Neptune said. “He’s really hard to deal with down there. We’re lucky he’s on our team.”
The teams traded blows down the stretch, with ‘Nova carrying a three-point lead into the final minute. But Carolina would hit a tying three with 34 seconds to go before both teams missed go-ahead shots in the final 10 seconds, sending the teams to overtime.
The teams again played within a possession of each other through much of overtime. A touch layup from Mark Armstrong with 40 seconds left put ‘Nova up three, and the sophomore would add a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to go to extend the lead to five. Villanova still found a way to make things interesting, committing a turnover after a UNC layup. TJ Bamba committed a very smart foul to send Carolina to the line with two seconds remaining rather than giving the Tar Heels a chance at a game-tying three. North Carolina was unable to secure the rebound on an intentional miss on the second free throw, and Villanova escaped with the huge win.
For the second game in a row, Villanova was able to secure a win despite not having the most efficient game offensively. While ‘Nova again managed to crack the 80-point mark, the ‘Cats shot just 38.3% overall and 22.7% from three. But they were spectacular from the free throw line (32-36) and limited North Carolina to 43.1% overall and 37.5% from three while forcing 15 turnovers, which ‘Nova converted into 16 points.
Justin Moore had 16 points (11 in the second half, five in overtime) as he made some big plays down the stretch.
“We got two veteran guys that led us tonight,” Neptune said about his duo of Dixon and Moore. “Big time players do big time things in big time moments. As a coach, looking at those guys in the huddle gave me confidence. They weren’t rattled at all, they just kept coming.”
As we noted, the Wildcats twice battled back from nine-point deficits and had a response for everything North Carolina threw at them.
“Some things didn’t go our way, we missed some shots we could make, Neptune said. “They’re a really good defensive team. They’re big, they’re athletic. They had a great game plan, they made it tough for us. But credit to our guys, they just stayed poised and just kept coming.”
