North Carolina barely escapes upset at hands of Providence

James Michael McAdoo sank two free throws in the final 3.5 seconds, and sixth-seeded North Carolina rallied to beat 11th-seeded Providence, 79-77, last night in a second-round East Regional game at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

Providence's Bryce Cotton scored a career-high 36 points and made one dazzling shot after another down the stretch. But he also fumbled a long rebound in the final moments, robbing the Friars of a chance for a last-second miracle.

"It wasn't enough, you know?" Cotton said. "I definitely left it all out on the floor just like the rest of my teammates, but obviously, it wasn't enough because we didn't come up with the win."

Had North Carolina (24-9) lost, it would've been the first time since 1979 the Tar Heels and rival Duke lost on the same day of the tournament. The Blue Devils fell earlier to 14th-seeded Mercer, and the Friars nearly handed North Carolina a similar stunner.

"We feel very fortunate, to say the least," UNC coach Roy Williams said.

Marcus Paige led North Carolina with 19 points. "It was a fun game -- because we won," said Paige, laughing.

The Friars, who haven't won in the tournament since 1997, squeezed everything out of their six-man rotation to give talent-rich North Carolina all it could handle. Each time the Tar Heels flexed their unmatchable athleticism -- forward J.P. Tokoto's spinning dunk after swiping a midcourt pass got everyone gasping -- Providence answered.

Cotton made sure of it.

Saving the performance of his career for his final game at Providence, Cotton was 13-for-23 from the floor and had eight assists. But there was nothing on his face but anguish after corralling a missed McAdoo free throw with less than 2 seconds left, only to bumble the ball off his knee and out of bounds.

Game over.

Dix Hills sophomore Tyler Harris had 13 for the Friars (23-12), who were a bubble team before winning the Big East Tournament.

Virginia 70, Coastal Carolina 59: Sixteenth-seeded Coastal Carolina (21-13) led top-seeded Virginia (29-6) by five at the half in PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., but another shocking upset was not to be as the Cavaliers dominated the second half and shot 52 percent overall, led by Anthony Gill's 17 points.

Iowa State 93, North Carolina Central 75: Led by Georges Niang's 24 points, all five starters scored in double figures in an easy win for third-seeded Iowa State in San Antonio. The Cyclones (27-7) shot a sizzling 63.6 percent from the field, including 9-for-17 from the three-point line. Jeremy Ingram scored 28 for fourteenth-seeded NCCU (28-6).

Memphis 71, George Washington 66: Michael Dixon Jr. scored 19 points and hit four free throws in the final 10 seconds to help Memphis hold off George Washington in Raleigh. Joe Jackson added 15 points for the eighth-seeded Tigers (24-9). Isaiah Armwood scored a season-high 21 points for ninth-seeded George Washington (24-9).-- AP