(PHOTO AND STORY: GONZAGA ATHLETICS)
Gonzaga fell to North Carolina 71-65 Monday night in the NCAA Championship game. Nigel Williams-Goss led the team with 15 points, while Josh Perkins added 13.
An unwatchable game turned into a beautiful night for the Tar Heels, who turned a free-throw contest into a championship they've been waiting an entire year to celebrate.
Justin Jackson delivered the go-ahead 3-point play with 1:40 left Monday and North Carolina pulled away for a 71-65 win over Gonzaga that washed away a year's worth of heartache.
It was, in North Carolina's words, a redemption tour - filled with extra time on the practice court and the weight room, all fueled by a devastating loss in last year's title game on Kris Jenkins' 3-point dagger at the buzzer for Villanova.
''I wanted to see this confetti fall on us and we're the winners,'' said Carolina's Joel Berry II, who led the Heels with 22 points. ''We came out here and we competed. It came down to the last second, but we're national champs now.''
Berry, along with most of Roy Williams' players, returned for another run. To say everything went right for them at this Final Four would not be the truth.
The Tar Heels (33-7) followed a terrible shooting night in the semifinal with an equally ice-cold performance in the final - going 4 for 27 from 3-point land and 26 for 73 overall.
Gonzaga, helped by 8 straight points from Williams-Goss, took a 2-point lead with 1:52 left, but the next possession was the game-changer.
Jackson took a zinger of a pass under the basket from Theo Pinson and converted the shot, then the ensuing free throw to take the lead for good.
Isaiah Hicks made a basket to push the lead to 3, then Kennedy Meeks, in foul trouble all night, blocked Williams-Goss' shot and Jackson got a slam on the other end to put some icing on title No. 6 for the Tar Heels. Williams got his third title, putting him one ahead of his mentor, Dean Smith, and now behind only John Wooden, Adolph Rupp and Mike Krzyzewski.
''I think of Coach Smith, there's no question,'' Williams said. ''I don't think I should be mentioned in the same sentence with him. But we got three because I've got these guys with me and that's all I care about right now - my guys.''
Berry recovered from ankle injuries to lead the Tar Heels, but needed 19 shots for his 22 points. Jackson had 16 on a 6-for-19 night and, overall, the Tar Heels actually shot a percentage point worse than they did in Saturday night's win over Oregon.