After losing in just about the hardest way possible to Villanova last April in the NCAA Championship, North Carolina redeemed itself with a 71-65 win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs last night in the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. In a battle of the two remaining number one seeds, Roy William’s Tar Heels managed to pull back to win despite a halftime deficit of three points.

Gonzaga, competing in its first National Championship game ever, led for a large portion of the first half and took a 35-32 lead into the locker room at half. The Zags also outrebounded North Carolina by two, 25-23 at the half. Josh Perkins lead the Bulldogs the first half, finishing the first 20 minutes with 13 points. His offense, however, slowed down as he ended the game with 13 points.

An already sloppy game turned sloppier, as both teams were called for a combined 27 fouls in the second half alone, 41 all game. All three of Gonzaga’s big men were whistled for four fouls, and with five minutes left, seven-footer Zach Collins was the first to foul out. That meant Przemek Karnowski and Co. had to play timidly in order to not foul out for the final minutes. This was the cherry on top of a dry spell for the Bulldogs, who went without a basket for more than seven minutes starting with about 14 minutes left in the second half.

Despite going without scoring a basket for seven minutes, the Zags competed and got to the line for free throws, finishing the game 17-26 from the line, only slightly better than North Carolina’s 15-26. Neither team had their best offensive showings, with Gonzaga shooting 33.9 percent and North Carolina barely outshooting them with a 35.6 percent field goal percentage.

In the end, there could only be one winner, and after a series of bad decisions by Gonzaga in the final 30 seconds, North Carolina claimed their sixth National Title in their 11th championship game appearance; their second appearance in as many years. Behind the likes of Joel Berry II, who scored 22 points despite his two sprained ankles, and Justin Jackson who scored 16 points, the Tar Heels fought through a tough night plagued by poor shooting and too many foul calls to win the game.