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No. 17 Texas Hits Buzzer Beater to Win Maui Invitational Over No. 14 North Carolina

No. 17 Texas hit a buzzer-beater with 0.1 seconds to beat No. 14 North Carolina, 69–67, and win the Maui Invitational Championship.

Madeline Coleman

With just 0.1 seconds left in a tie game between No. 17 Texas and No. 14 North Carolina, Matt Coleman shot a stepback jumper. Both teams watched as it hit the rim, bounced off the backboard and finally dropped through the net, giving the Longhorns a 69–67 win in the Maui Invitational Championship.

Coleman finished with 22 points against the Tar Heels and was named the tournament's MVP. Texas won despite blowing a 16-point lead late in the first half and falling behind with about two and a half minutes left in the game.

"It was on line. I knew I didn’t leave it short," Coleman said. "It just had to play with the rim a little bit, create some suspense for the fans."

Kai Jones also played a critical role for Texas's victory, creating a dynamic duo with Coleman. He tallied 12 points, including a tying jumper with a little over two minutes left and a transition dunk with 41.2 seconds remaining that pushed Texas to a 67–65 lead.

While UNC's Leaky Black answered with two free throws, tying the game, the Tar Heels watched their almost comeback victory go down the drain as Coleman made the last second shot against R.J. Davis.

North Carolina falls to 3–9 all-time vs. Texas—the Tar Heels' worst record against any opponent they've played at least 10 times.

North Carolina's most notable player was Garrison Brooks, who played through an ankle injury that sent him to the locker room twice on Wednesday night. He tallied 18 points, nine more than the second-highest UNC scorer, Davis.

Black matched his career high of 10 rebounds for the second time in three games, and had 27 rebounds during the Maui Invitational, the most by any Tar Heel.

UNC shot just 11.1% from three and 56.3% from the free-throw line and tallied 14 turnovers. Caleb Love accounted for four of those turnovers, the most on the team.

"I hope Caleb learned not to turn over and take better shots," coach Roy Williams said. "I love him to death as a kid and he will work hard and learn. These freshmen have to grow up quickly and they have to get involved and get better along the way."

Texas, on the other hand, went 40.9% from the three and 71.4% from the free-throw line with 11 turnovers. This is the first time the Longhorns have won the Maui Invitational in their five years playing in the tournament.

"First half Texas's attention to detail and urgency was much better than ours," Williams said. "We got to stop turning the ball over, and dug ourselves a big hole with missed free throws"

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Madeline Coleman
MADELINE COLEMAN

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