Hoyas upend Heels in OT

By The Associated Press     Mar 26, 2007

North Carolina coach Roy Williams speaks at a news conference after losing 96-84 to Georgetown in a the East Regional championship game. The Heels tumbled Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.

? John Thompson III shook hands with coach Roy Williams and everyone else on the North Carolina side, never showing a smile. Tough game, good game, he told them.

Then it was time to walk across the court – to the biggest bear hug he could imagine.

“You’ve been complaining about the bus being rickety, but the ride home is going to be good tonight,” his dad told him.

“Isn’t it?” the son said.

Twenty-five years later, Georgetown got even.

In an NCAA Tournament full of incredible rallies, it was the Hoyas’ turn – against North Carolina, for goodness sakes, the same Tar Heels who won the national title on a Michael Jordan jump shot against a Georgetown team led by a coach named Thompson and a player named Ewing a generation ago.

Georgetown overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half, then ripped off 14 straight points in overtime to stun the top-seeded Tar Heels, 96-84, in the East Regional final Sunday for their first trip to the Final Four since 1985, when the coach was John Thompson Jr. and the star was Patrick Ewing.

The Hoyas (30-6) did it this time with their coach calling the backdoor plays he learned at Princeton and Patrick Ewing Jr. making key contributions.

“The comparisons to Pop’s teams, much like the talk about Big Pat, Little Pat, Big John, Little John, you guys can do that,” Thompson III said. “We’re here playing, trying to figure out how to win games.”

They were helped by an amazing collapse from Carolina (31-7), which made only one of 23 field goal attempts, including its first 12 in overtime, over a 15-minute span after seemingly have the game in hand.

“This is an extremely disappointing time for our team. It’s not the way you want your season to end,” Williams said. “Congratulations to Georgetown and Young John. Young John is like family to me.”

After Georgetown’s Jonathan Wallace hit a three that tied it at 81 with 31 seconds left in regulation, the Tar Heels had a chance to win it, but freshman Wayne Ellington missed an open jumper from the wing right before the buzzer, and Ewing grabbed the rebound, prompting his famous father to high-five everyone near him in the stands.

There would be no game-winning shot for the Tar Heels a la 1982, when the Jordan legend began with a 17-foot jumper with 17 seconds left, lifting Carolina over Georgetown, 63-62, for the national championship.

The Hoyas waited a long time to avenge that defeat, and when they did, it made the Thompsons the first father-son duo to coach teams to the Final Four, much less at the same school.

“You want the best for your kids. I’m proud of both John and my son,” Ewing Sr. said. “I’m happy, I’m very proud. I think Georgetown is back.”

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