Marcus Paige"s 3-pointer was dagger that finally ended Syracuse basketball"s run

UNC Men"s Basketball: Syracuse Postgame PC - Final Four

Houston Syracuse felt it again. The will and belief that will forever be the hallmark of the 2016 Syracuse basketball team roared to life midway through the second half against North Carolina.

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The Orange, which trailed by as many as 17 points, pulled within seven. Its press, so effective against Virginia, forced multiple turnovers. Its offense, stagnant for much of the night, ignited briefly.

And when Syracuse fans at NRG Stadium roared until Roy Williams called a timeout it all felt so familiar. And then it all ended just as quickly.

North Carolina point guard Marcus Paige calmly pulled up from behind the 3-point line and launched the effort that ended Syracuse"s season, providing the first opponent in the NCAA Tournament that could match the Orange"s willpower.

It was the first shot the Tar Heels made from behind the 3-point line after 12 consecutive misses to start the game, and it ensured that seven points was as close as the Orange would come late in an 83-66 season-ending loss to North Carolina

"At this point of the year it"s now or never, and when you hit shots like that, those are definitely daggers," Syracuse freshman Frank Howard said. "He"s a big-shot maker and he hit a big shot and that killed us."

Syracuse had fallen behind 57-40 with just 12 minutes and 28 seconds left in its season, the type of deficit that has marked the end for most teams facing top-seeded North Carolina. The Orange, as it has throughout the postseason, mounted one final push.

Trevor Cooney hit a 3-pointer, then stole the ball at the top of the 2-3 zone and finished a breakaway dunk. The Orange forced another turnover, Tyler Lydon blocked a shot and Malachi Richardson scored five straight points, capping a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer.

North Carolina had missed every shot it had taken from behind the arc, excelling by pounding the ball into the post. But 22 seconds after Richardson whipped Syracuse into a frenzy, with 9:26 remaining in Syracuse"s season, Paige pulled up in front of the 2-3 zone and fired the shot that would finally prove too much for the Orange to overcome.

"Every time we thought we were going to go on a little run they had an answer for it," Syracuse freshman Tyler Lydon said. "It was just that type of night."

Against a Syracuse team that has overcome so much this season, it was fitting that it met its match in Paige. The leading 3-point shooter in UNC history, Paige likely could have gone pro as a sophomore, but returned to school and watched his draft stock drop.

He hasn"t shot the ball well this year and, despite being revered, he hadn"t guided the powerhouse Tar Heels past the Sweet 16 until this season.

"You know, at that moment, I wanted somebody in a North Carolina uniform to make it," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "If I (take) time to reflect, it couldn"t be more appropriate that it was Marcus Paige that did that because he"s just been sensational all year long."

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/index.ssf/2016/04/syracuse_basketball_vs_north_carolina_final_four_sidebar_3.html