NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Blue-hued finish

Tar Heels' surge ends Hogs' season at 27-9

Arkansas guard Rashad Madden, right, and forward Keaton Miles leave the court after the team lost to North Carolina 87-78 during an NCAA tournament third round basketball game Saturday, March 21, 2015, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Arkansas guard Rashad Madden, right, and forward Keaton Miles leave the court after the team lost to North Carolina 87-78 during an NCAA tournament third round basketball game Saturday, March 21, 2015, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- North Carolina guard Marcus Paige came alive in the second half and led a late surge to kill Arkansas' chances of advancing in the NCAA Tournament.

Paige, a 6-1 junior, scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the Tar Heels to an 87-78 victory over the Razorbacks on Saturday night in a round of 32 game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Tar Heels (26-11), fourth-seeded in the West Regional, advanced to play today's Wisconsin-Oregon winner next week in Los Angeles.

Junior guard Michael Qualls led the fifth-seeded Razorbacks (27-9) with 27 points and had 10 rebounds. Arkansas sophomore forward Bobby Portis had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Senior guard Ky Madden had 13 points, and junior guard Anthlon Bell added 11.

North Carolina freshman forward Justin Jackson had 16 points, junior forward P.J. Tokoto had 13 and sophomore guard Nate Britt 10.

Arkansas took a 59-58 lead on Jabril Durham's three-point basket with 10:54 left. Then the Tar Heels outscored the Razorbacks 17-4 over a 5:02 span, including 13 points by Paige, to move ahead 75-63 with 5:38 left.

Arkansas couldn't pull closer than six points the rest of the game.

"Paige just did what big-time players do," Portis said. "He stepped up for his basketball team when they needed him to. The first half he kind of struggled, but in the same half he started being a leader and being more dynamic on the court."

Paige made 4 of 6 from the field in the second half, including 3 of 3 three-point attempts, after going 1 of 8 in the first half. He finished 9 of 9 from the free-throw line.

"We did a good job finding him in the first half," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "In the second half we had some assignments where guys should have been out there with him, because he has pretty unlimited range, and he knocked down a couple of shots.

"Before you know it, it kind of put us back on our heels."

Paige said Arkansas' pressure defense got him sped up in the first half and affected his shooting.

"I just wanted to come out in the second half and let the game come to me," Paige said. "I didn't really force anything and was able to get some good looks, and after that I got in a rhythm. I didn't lose confidence."

The Razorbacks had a season-high 21 turnovers.

"We had a bunch of unforced turnovers, which is very uncharacteristic of our team," Anderson said. "And they got points off of that."

North Carolina, which had 16 turnovers, outscored Arkansas 23-16 in points off turnovers.

"We probably were getting ahead of ourselves, trying to make too many plays," Madden said of Arkansas nearly doubling its seven average of 11.7 turnovers per game. "We had to settle down and try to make the correct [decisions], but it happens in the game of basketball."

Several of Arkansas' turnovers came on traveling calls or poor passes.

"We had balls slipping out of our hands," Anderson said. "We'd steal it and we'd throw it right back to them."

The Tar Heels had a 40-24 edge in points in the paint and a 25-18 edge on second-chance points.

"I feel very fortunate," North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said. "We beat a very good Arkansas team that's had a great, great year."

Qualls said it was a tough way to end the season.

"I just wanted to play for the seniors because it's their last ride," Qualls said. "We just fell short. That's life."

Arkansas shot 36.9 percent from the field (24 of 65) but stayed within striking distance by hitting 8 of 25 three-pointers, including Bell going 3 of 6 and Madden 2 of 5.

"North Carolina made plays when they had to, but it wasn't because of a lack of effort by our guys," Anderson said. "I was really proud of our effort."

North Carolina made 29 of 37 free throws, including 23 of 30 in the second half. Arkansas made 22 of 27 free throws, including 14 of 18 in the second half. There were 48 combined fouls -- 25 on the Tar Heels and 23 on the Razorbacks.

Qualls said having so many free throws in the second half hurt the Razorbacks' ability to wear down the Tar Heels.

"The ball was stopping every 40 seconds," Qualls said. "That takes away a lot of what we want to do. We want to tire the other team out, and with [the foul calls] it couldn't ever happen. It was just key for them tonight."

The game had 11 lead changes and as tied 10 times before Paige finally helped the Tar Heels take control.

"It was an entertaining game," Anderson said.

The Razorbacks played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008, when they beat Indiana in a first-round game, then lost to No. 1 North Carolina 108-77.

North Carolina improved to 112-43 in NCAA Tournament games in 46 appearances. Arkansas fell to 41-30 in 30 appearances.

Sports on 03/22/2015

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