By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Terrence Hill Jr. made a stepback 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in overtime and 11th-seeded VCU erased from a 19-point second-half deficit to stun sixth-seeded North Carolina 82-78 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Hill finished 7 for 10 from 3-point range and scored 20 of 34 points after halftime as VCU (28-7) won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2016.
Nyk Lewis added 16 points, including two clutch free throws, to seal the game for the Rams, who’ll face the winner of No. 14 Penn and No. 3 Illinois in the second round on Saturday.
Henri Veesaar had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels (25-8), who went 0-3 after star Caleb Wilson was ruled out for the season with an injury.
In overtime, Seth Trimble made 1 of 2 free throws with 35 seconds left to put the Tar Heels up 78-77.
But Hill made his crucial 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key to give VCU an 80-78 lead.
Veesar was fouled with 4.2 seconds left, but missed the first of two free throws. He was forced to try to throw the ball off the rim with the second shot, but missed and VCU got the ball underneath the North Carolina basket.
Lewis was fouled and hit two free throws to ice the game.
North Carolina built a 19-point lead with 15 minutes remaining before before VCU came storming back to tie it at 75 with 11 seconds left on a driving layup by Hill.
After the Tar Heels called a timeout, Veesaar lost the ball out of bounds in the frontcourt with 2.4 seconds left, giving VCU a chance to win. Trimble stole the inbounds pass and had a chance to flip the script, but missed a running 3-point try at the buzzer, sending the game into OT.
VCU shot 62% from the field in the second half and was 7 of 10 from beyond the arc in the second half to force overtime.
VCU had no answer early on for the 7-foot Veesaar in the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop. The Estonia native had 13 points and five rebounds in the first half as the Tar Heels built a 15-point lead. When Veesaar wasn’t scoring while rolling to the basket, he was making open 3s from the top of the key.
But, the big man seemed to tire as the game went on and mistakes followed. He finished with three turnovers.