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By Jeff McKeown

Although the beginning of the second half saw the Dayton Flyers increase their lead to 20, North Carolina started to claw their way back, cutting the once huge lead to 81-80 with 3:00 to play.  

Amado L’Etang hit his third 3-pointer of the night to pull the lead back to four. After five straight points by the Tar Heels, the two teams traded 3-pointers and UNC led 88-87 with 1:13 to play.

After a timeout, RJ Davis picked up his 4th foul on a drive to the basket on a player control foul. With 18 seconds left, Dayton’s Nate Santos missed a 3-point attempt which was rebounded by RJ Davis. He was immediately fouled and made two free throws to give North Carolina a three point lead with 14 seconds to play.

On the ensuing play, Santos hit a jumper to cut the lead to one with 6 seconds to play.  RJ Davis hit two more clutch free throws and the Tar Heels hung on for a 92-90 victory.

The winners got two monster performances by RJ Davis and Seth Trimble who scored 30 and 27 points respectively. Trimble added 10 rebounds in the winning effort.  

Dayton had six players in double figures, led by Nate Santos with 15 points.

North Carolina will face Auburn tomorrow night at 6:00 pm in the semifinals.

Photos: Lori McKeown