Unlike the night before, North Carolina could not dig itself out of a massive whole and fell to No. 4 Auburn, 85-72, in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational on Tuesday night.
UNC overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Dayton in the quarterfinals, and less than three weeks ago, overcame a 20-point margin to take the lead at No. 1 Kansas before falling by three points.
But against a bigger Auburn team that was at times quicker, faster, and more successful getting to 50-50 stuff, the Tar Heels simply didn’t have enough.
Carolina’s largest deficit in the first half was 15 points and in the second half was 19 points with 8:05 remaining. UNC got within single digits at 75-66 with after a 3-pointer by Seth Trimble with 3:17 left to play.
Trimble led UNC with 17 points while RJ Davis added 12, and three players finished with 10 points each: Elliot Cadeau; Ven-Allen Lubin; and Jae’Lyn Withers.
UNC dropped to 4-2 overall and will face Michigan State (5-2) in the third-place game Wednesday night at 9:30 PM.
Here is How It Happened:
1st Half
TV TO – Auburn 12, UNC 4 with 16:20 left in the half
UNC 2-6 FGs (0-1 from 3)
Aub 5-8 FGs (2-3 from 3)
Rebs – Aub 4-2
Fouls – Aub 3-0
TOs – UNC 1-0
Pts in paint – 4-4
RJ Davis all 4 UNC pts
Notes: Auburn scored on each of its first five possessions and led 12-4 before not scoring on its sixth possession, which was a miss by former Georgia Tech guard Miles Kelly. Carolina was a bit out of sync early again.
TV TO – Auburn 23, UNC 12 with 11:44 left in the half
That segment: Auburn 11-8
UNC 5-14 FGs (0-2 from 3)
Aub 10-19 FGs (3-8 from 3)
Rebs – Aub 9-8 (3-2 OR)
2nd chance pts – UNC 6-4
Pts in paint – Aub 12-10
TOs – UNC 3-0
Pts off TOs – Aub 6-0
Notes: Auburn scored on 9 of its first 10 possessions and is now at 10 of the first 15 while UNC has scored on 6 of its first 15 possessions. Ven-Allen Lubin gave UNC a lift in the last segment with a driving dunk and put back.
TV TO – Auburn 30, UNC 24 with 6:44 left in the half
That segment: UNC 12-7
UNC 9-20 FGs (2-4 from 3)
Aub 13-27 FGs (4-11 from 3)
Rebs – 12-12 (4-2 OR Aub)
2nd chance pts – Aub 7-6
Fast break pts – UNC 8-6
Blocks – Aub 2-1
Steals – Aub 3-0
Notes: UNC’s 15-2 run cut the margin to 23-21 but then Auburn went on a 7-0 spurt. UNC’s first foul came on Ian Jackson with 6:44 left in the half.
TV TO – Auburn 35, UNC 30 with 3:07 left in the half
That segment: UNC 6-5
UNC 12-25 FGs (2-4 from 3)
Aub 14-31 FGs (5-14 from 3)
Rebs – 15-15 (Aub 4-2 OR)
Assists – Aub 6-4
TOs – UNC 4-2
Pts off TOs – Aub 8-2
Bench pts – UNC 9-7
Pts in paint – UNC 18-14
Fast break pts – UNC 12-6
Trimble 7 pts, Lubin 6, Cadeau 6, Davis 4
Notes: Elliot Cadeau converted a couple of strong drives in that segment, and the Tar Heels forced some misses and a shot clock violation just before the media timeout.
Final Segment:
-Auburn 5-2.
*Withers had a tough segment. A hard foul when he bit for a fake on one end and an attempted dunk blocked after beautiful passing by the Heels on the other right before the half ended. Trimble closed the half strong driving and scoring keep the margin from extending to more than eight points.
2nd Half
TV TO – Auburn 54, UNC 39 with 15:31 left
This half…
UNC 2-5 FGs (1-2 from 3)
Aub 5-11 FGs (3-6 from 3)
Rebs – Aub 7-3
*More than twice as many FG attempts for Auburn
Game…
Pts in paint – UNC 22-20
Fast break pts – UNC 12-7
JWash 9 mins/2 pts/0 rebs
Notes: UNC allowed 3 offensive rebounds on one Auburn possession that ended with the Tigers hitting a 3-pointer. Auburn opened the second half on a 12-2 run after starting the game on a 21-6 run.
TV TO – Auburn 59, UNC 45 with 12:00 left
That segment: 5-5
UNC 17-41 FGs (3-8 from 3)
Aub 23-55 FGs (7-18 from 3)
Rebs – Aub 31-26 (11-4 OR)
2nd chance pts – Aub 12-6
Pts in paint – UNC 24-22
Davis 6 pts – 3-7 FG (0-2 from 3)
Notes: UNC’s dribble, dribble, dribble, drive and fall offensive approach can only get it so far. Heels aren’t getting many open perimeter shots or even looking for them, and they are getting nothing offensively, defensively, or on the glass from the interior.
TV TO – Auburn 71, UNC 54 with 7:51 left
That segment: Auburn 12-9
*UNC shooting 50% this half, but it’s 8-16
*Auburn has attempted 9 more shots – is 12-25
Game…
UNC’s bigs: 48 mins/15 pts/10 rebs
*Auburn 10-for-26 from 3
Notes: More of the same in that segment for the Heels. Though, Cade Tyson made his first appearance with 10:13 left and UNC trailing 63-50. He went out at the media timeout.
TV TO - Auburn 75, UNC 63 with 3:51 left
That segment: UNC 9-4
UNC 23-53 FGs (5-11 from 3)
UNC 9-for-20 on layups
Aub 28-67 FGs (10-29 from 3)
*Auburn 14 more FG attempts
Rebs – Aub 37-34 (11-5 OR)
2nd chance pts – Aub 12-8
Pts in paint – 30-30
FTs – UNC 12-16 / Aub 9-11
Notes: UNC’s bigs scored 6 straight points in one stretch with Lubin getting 2 and Withers hitting 4 free throws. In a game trailing by 11-15 points, UNC went 6 minutes without attempting a 3. RJ made one at 10:26 and Trimble made one at 4:31. UNC is too wild driving into the lane. Very few kickouts.
Final Segment:
*Auburn 10-9
-Unlike the night before when Carolina orchestrated the final touches of its comeback, this was more a matter of the game clock simply running out.
