Villanova defeats North Carolina in buzzer beater

HOUSTON (AP) -- One of the great NCAA men's championship games came down to one shot -- and Kris Jenkins seized the moment.     

The Villanova junior forward canned the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to send `Nova to its second national championship with a heart-stopping 77-74 victory over top seed North Carolina.

Jenkins said afterward that he believes every shot he takes is good -- "and this one was no different."

There's something about playing in a NCAA national title game that brings out the best in Villanova.

The second-seeded Wildcats erased a five-point halftime deficit to win their first national championship in 31 years. It may not have been as flawless as Villanova's upset of Georgetown in 1985 or its 44-point semifinal performance against Oklahoma on Saturday, but the Wildcats were poised and plenty good enough to deny North Carolina its sixth national title.

North Carolina's Marcus Paige had just tied the game with an off-balanced 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left. But Ryan Arcidiacono (ahr-chee-dee-ah-KOH'-noh) got the inbounds pass at midcourt quickly and fed Jenkins for the winning basket.

Phil Booth led Villanova with 20 points. Arcidiacono scored 16 and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Jenkins added 14 -- but owns the 3-pointer that will forever go into Villanova basketball lore.

As `Nova coach Jay Wright said of Jenkins' winning shot, "Kris lives for that moment."

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