Saunders contributed 26 points and five assists (Gil Talbot).

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On a day full of upsets the 13th-seeded Harvard men's basketball team seemed destined to knock off fourth-seeded North Carolina, but Wesley Saunders' 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark as the Tar Heels held off for a 67-65 victory.

Saunders led all scorers and set a Harvard record for points in a tournament game with 26. The senior finished 8-of-14 from the floor, 2-of-3 from 3 and 8-of-9 from the line, and added four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Siyani Chambers contributed 13 points and three assists, while Steve Moundou-Missi and Kenyatta Smith added six apiece.

North Carolina (25-11) controlled the paint for much of the game, outscoring Harvard (22-8) 36-22 down low and holding a 35-26 advantage on the glass. Marcus Paige scored 12 points and dished out six assists to pace the Tar Heel offense and Justin Jackson chipped in 14 points.

With the win, North Carolina advances to the NCAA tournament third round where it will meet the winner of tonight's matchup between fifth-seeded Arkansas and 12th-seeded Wofford. The game will be played Saturday with the tip off time yet to be announced.

Saunders scored Harvard's first 10 points, including a cross-over on the mis-matched Kennedy Meeks to beat the shot clock and pull the Crimson within 7-5.  His high-arching shot over Joel James made it an 8-7 game, but North Carolina responded with a 13-0 stretch to open a 21-7 margin. A 3-pointer from Saunders ended the drought, and he followed it up on the next possession with a feed inside to Smith for a bucket.

Trailing 26-12, a reverse layup by Saunders ignited an 11-0 stretch as Harvard cut its deficit to 26-23 on Siyani Chambers' 3. The Tar Heels outscored the Crimson 10-2 to close the half, however, and took a 36-25 lead into the locker room.

Jackson and Saunders exchanged 3-pointers to begin the second half, and after a pull-up jumper by Chambers the score stood at 50-36. A pair of hustle plays by Jonah Travis resulted in the senior getting to the line for two, and after Moundou-Missi dove out of bounds for a rebound Saunders found Corbin Miller for a corner 3, making it a 52-41 game.

Saunders got the deficit to single digits at the free throw line, 52-43, and Smith put back a Saunders miss in transition to make it 54-47. A floater from Chambers and free throws from Miller cut the lead to 58-55, and a second floater by the junior co-captain kept the Crimson within striking distance, 60-57.

A pair of Moundou-Missi free throws moved the score to 60-59, and Saunders answered a Paige 3 with a mid-range jumper, 63-61. Chambers forced a Tar Heel turnover and Saunders came away with an offensive rebound, resulting in a four-point play to give Harvard its first lead of the game, 65-63.

Justin Jackson responded just 11 seconds later to tie the game, and North Carolina got out in transition after a Harvard miss to regain the lead, 67-65, with 0:24 remaining. Meeks kept the Crimson's hopes alive as he missed the front end of a one-and-one with 0:12 to go, but Saunders' 3-pointer as time expired came off the backboard the rattled off the rim, giving the victory to the Tar Heels, 67-65.

Game Notes: Wesley Saunders scored 26 points to set the Harvard record for points in an NCAA tournament game … Wesley Saunders' 26 points marked the ninth time this season he has scored 20-plus points and 21st time of his career … Wesley Saunders has led Harvard in scoring 20 times this season, 48 times in his career … Wesley Saunders' finished his Harvard career ranked fourth in career scoring (1,511), fourth in career steals (175) and third in games played (120) … Steve Moundou-Missi finished his Harvard career ranked 34th in career scoring (1,010), 10th in career rebounds (667) and tied with Laurent Rivard '14 for the most games played in Ivy League history (123) … Harvard's senior class combined for 41 points and 16 rebounds in its final game … Harvard's senior class finished with a career record of 95-28 and as the first senior class in program history to appear in the NCAA tournament each of its four years.