Notebook: Foul trouble trips up Zags in championship game

Published 1:30 am Monday, April 3, 2017

Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The sounds of the NCAA Championship game were whistles and moans.

There never seemed to be a flow to the game that North Carolina won 71-65 over Gonzaga on Monday night for its sixth national title.

Each team had 22 fouls but it was the big men who took the brunt of it.

Both teams like to get the ball inside, but when they did, there was usually a whistle.

“Those were three of the best officials in the entire country, in the NBA or college. I thought they did a great job,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “These are two heavyweights going at it, playing very physical. You still have to officiate the game and I thought they did a good job.”

Kennedy Meeks, the man in the middle for North Carolina, finished with seven points, four fouls and a huge blocked shot.

Gonzaga’s Przemek Karnowski never got in the flow of the game and finished with nine points and four fouls. His backup, Zach Collins, played just 14 minutes and fouled out with 5:03 to play.

“I’m not going to talk about refs,” Karnowski said. “It was just a physical game.”

Since the inside didn’t provide answers to a takeover run, both teams were forced to go outside and the Tar Heels were amazingly able to win shooting just 4-for-27 (14.8 percent) from 3-point range.

Gonzaga was 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from 3-point range but none of the Zags’ big men were able to break double figures scoring.

Meeks did come up with the biggest play by a big man when he blocked Nigel Williams-Goss’ jumper with 16 seconds left and the Tar Heels leading 68-65. When there was a break in play after North Carolina went up 70-65, Meeks ran and hugged coach Roy Williams in front of the bench.

“We were negotiating through massive foul issues, (which) we haven’t had all year,” Few said. “It was not looking good with 10 (minutes) to go there. I thought we navigated our way to tie it in the final minute.”

Berry named outstanding player

North Carolina guard Joel Berry II, hobbled by two bad ankles, played a strong championship game after a clunker in the semifinals and was named the outstanding player of the Final Four.

The junior floor leader scored 22 points and handed out six assists in the Tar Heels’ victory over Gonzaga.

Berry bounced back from a 2-for-14 shooting performance against Oregon on Saturday to make 7-of-19 from the floor against the Zags.

During the postgame celebration, he acknowledged he wasn’t 100 percent but said he gave it his all.

“It came down to the last seconds,” he said, “but we’re champions now.”