MILWAUKEE – Whatever North Carolina coach Hubert Davis told his team inside the halftime locker room Friday afternoon, the message came about 20 minutes too late.
Left for dead at halftime, the No. 11 Tar Heels attempted a furious comeback rally in the second half of Friday afternoon’s first round of the NCAA tournament against No. 6 Mississippi. The comeback ultimately fell short, ending with 71-64 loss to end North Carolina’s season.
The Tar Heels trialed by 20 points inside the first minute of the second half, but momentum turned midway through. North Carolina gave itself a chance with an extended 34-13 run, cutting the deficit to 66-64 with 1:09 left. But Mississippi guard Sean Pedulla connected on a 3-pointer with 52 second left, pushing the lead back out to 5 points.
BOX SCORE: Mississippi 71, North Carolina 64
The loss ends North Carolina’s season at 23-14. The Tar Heels were unable to build momentum after their 27-point win earlier this week against San Diego State sealed their inclusion in the field of 64.
They had a woeful first half to thank for that.
Ole Miss depth vs. just RJ Davis
RJ Davis was solid in the first half, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting while playing all 20 minutes. He wasn’t spectacular. The senior guard made only 1-of-4 shots behind the 3-point arc, but he should have been enough to keep the Tar Heels within striking distance.
The problem was a lack of support around Davis. Ian Jackson and Seth Trimble combined to score just 1 point on a combined 0-of-2 shooting, both shots coming from Jackson. His lone point came at the foul line. Both had a pair of fouls.
The lack of balance was a bad combination against Mississippi’s balance. The Rebels entered with five players averaging in double digits, and they flexed their depth to build what ended up being an insurmountable lead.
Dre Davis led the way in the first half with 13 points, making all five of his shots, including all three from behind the 3-point arc. Jaemyn Brakefield added 10 points, Jaylen Murray had 7, and leading scorer Sean Pedulla had 6.
The contrast of balance was stark. Pedulla didn’t score his first point until a free throw with 7:28 left. At that point, the Tar Heels trailed 31-19.
Ven-Allen Lubin provided complementary scoring in the second half, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes. Trimble also exited the halftime locker room looking for his shot, finishing with 9 points.
Davis finished with 15 points but shot just 6-of-17 from the field.
But four Rebels finished with at least eight, including three with at least 12.
Tar Heels can’t prevent mediocre Mississippi shooters from hot start
If the Tar Heels couldn’t lock down the 3-point line against the Rebels, they didn’t have much chance to advance.
Mississippi built its resume without flexing its outside shooting. The Rebels made just 34.1% of their 3-point shots this season, ranking 160th in the nation. But the Tar Heels couldn’t force a miss through the opening minutes Friday, falling behind against a barrage of 3-pointers.
The Rebels made six of their first seven 3-point shots, sprinting out to a 26-14 lead with 10:39 left in the first half. Davis, only a 31.4% shooter outside, made all three of those 3-pointers in that stretch. Mississippi reverted to the norm after its hot start, finishing just 8-of-20 from behind the arc, but the damage was done.
North Carolina trailed by double digits until there was 6:19 left in the second half.
On the other end, the Tar Heels lacked the shooting touch to match. They finished 5-of-24 from behind the 3-point line.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ole Miss advances after surviving North Carolina’s comeback attempt.
