Villanova beats No. 14 North Carolina 83-81 in OT, advances to title game at Battle 4 Atlantis

NASSAU – Justin Moore scored five of his 16 points in overtime and Eric Dixon had a career-high 34 points and 10 rebounds as Villanova beat No. 14 North Carolina 83-81 on Thursday in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Villanova (5-1) will play Memphis, an 84-79 winner over No. 20 Arkansas, in the championship game on Friday. North Carolina (4-1) will play the Razorbacks for third place.

North Carolina guard Cormac Ryan hit a 3-pointer in the corner, off a nice drive and pass by Elliot Cadeau, and tied the game at 68 with 34.4 seconds left in regulation. Moore dribbled down the clock before finding Dixon for a 3-pointer try that rattled out. North Carolina took it to midcourt before calling a timeout with 3.3 seconds left. RJ Davis inbounded and got the ball back before his off balance 3-point attempt hit off the back of the rim.

Moore put Villanova ahead for good in overtime on a three-point play with 2:08 left. Mark Armstrong added 10 points for Villanova. The Wildcats hit 32 of 36 free throws, fouling out three North Carolina players, and the teams combined for 52 fouls, 30 on the Tar Heels.

Davis led North Carolina with 23 points. Harrison Ingram added 20 points before fouling out at the offensive end with 3:44 left in regulation. Ryan finished with 18 points, and Armando Bacot had eight points and 18 rebounds.

Dixon reached 20 points in the first half after making two free throws with nine seconds left to give Villanova a 32-31 lead. But Davis answered at the other end, hitting a 3-pointer to give UNC a one-point lead at the break.

Dixon was 6 of 9 from the field, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, and 5 of 5 at the line in the first half.

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