No. 5-ranked North Carolina had a chance to hand No. 1 Kentucky its first loss of the season Saturday, but the long right arm and strong legs of Anthony Davis suddenly and stunningly ended the threat.
Kentucky held on to win 73-72 at Rupp Arena when Davis, a 6-foot-10 freshman forward, gave John Henson, one of the country's top shot-blockers, a taste of his own medicine on North Carolina's last possession.
Davis rushed over from the lane to swat down Henson's 12-foot jumper from the right baseline with seven seconds left, then grabbed the ball.
Henson was shocked that his shot was blocked. He thought Davis was too far away.
"I thought it was like shooting in practice," Henson said. "That's what great players do to make great plays. He made a great play."
The Tar Heels' last possession started with 21.5 seconds left. Freshman Marquis Teague of the Wildcats missed the front of a one-and-one, and Reggie Bullock collared the rebound for the Heels.
Point guard Kendall Marshall came off a screen and passed inside to 7-foot Tyler Zeller, who was in the lane near the basket. Zeller couldn't make a clean catch with Davis behind him playing tough defense, and the ball bounced off Zeller's hands and toward Henson.
Coach Roy Williams of the Tar Heels said that late in a tied or a one-point game, he prefers that his players take the ball to the basket for a close shot or to draw a foul. Henson said that maybe he should have followed that advice.
"Looking back at it, there was time enough to drive," Henson said.
Davis got a full hand on the ball but wasn't sure he was going to get to it.
"I jumped as high as I could and put my arm up," Davis said. "I saw Terrence (Jones) wasn't on him, so I just sprinted out as fast as I could."
Henson made no move for the ball after the block, even though there were five seconds left when Davis got the ball. The numb Tar Heels made no attempt to foul, stop the clock and put the Wildcats back on the free-throw line.
"I just knew we were going to win the game," Marshall said. "I had that feeling: We're going to make this shot. I think just to see at the end, it kind of took me a couple of seconds to realize that Davis got a hand on it.
"At that point, we, as a team, thought time had run out. We didn't realize we had two seconds left."
North Carolina fell to 6-2 and lost for the second time in three games.
Kentucky is now 8-0.
Harrison Barnes and Zeller led the Tar Heels with 14 points each. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led the Wildcats with 17. The Tar Heels led 43-38 at halftime, after leading by nine, but the Wildcats tightened their defense after halftime to spark a comeback.
North Carolina fought off one Kentucky run at the lead but couldn't quell a second run. Ahead 56-52, North Carolina missed nine consecutive shots, and Kentucky took the lead for good at 61-60 with 7:31 left.
"It was such a crazy game," Williams said. "It was a one-point game, and we have a chance to win. We miss a dunk in the second half and miss a dunk at the end of the buzzer in the first half. It would be nice if one of those had gone in."
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