The Villanova Wildcats pulled off a thrilling overtime victory against the No. 14 North Carolina Tar Heels in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Wednesday night. The Wildcats, led by guard Collin Gillespie, held off a late surge from the Tar Heels to win 83-81 in overtime.
The game was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than four points in the first half. The Tar Heels took a two-point lead into halftime, but the Wildcats came out of the break on fire. They opened up a nine-point lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game, and it looked like they were going to cruise to victory.
But the Tar Heels had other plans. Led by guard Cole Anthony, they went on a 13-2 run to take a four-point lead with just over two minutes remaining. The Wildcats responded with a clutch three-pointer from Gillespie to tie the game at 71 and send it to overtime.
In overtime, the Wildcats took control of the game. They opened up a six-point lead with less than two minutes remaining and held on for the win. Gillespie finished with a team-high 24 points, while forward Jermaine Samuels added 19 points and seven rebounds.
The win sends the Wildcats to the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, where they will face No. 6 Gonzaga. It was a huge win for Villanova, who will look to continue their success against the Bulldogs.
No matter what happens in the championship game, Villanova can be proud of their performance against North Carolina. They showed tremendous resilience and determination to come back from a late deficit and pull off a thrilling overtime victory. It was a great win for the Wildcats, and one that will surely give them confidence heading into their next game.
