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NEW YORK — North Carolina appeared on its way to a double-digit blowout of Ohio State Thursday night but ended up holding on for dear life before a pro-Tar Heels crowd at Madison Square Garden.

It wasn't quite the Dean Smith Center, but for one night No. 6 North Carolina played to a mostly powder blue-clad home crowd in the Big Apple as it beat the No. 15 Buckeyes, 77-73, in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

"They fought their way back," said Carolina guard Larry Drew, who made two clutch foul shots with 11.3 seconds left and finished with 11 points and a career-high eight assists. "It was a hard-fought win for us."

Deon Thompson put up 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, Will Graves scored 14 points and Marcus Ginyard added 13 points for the defending NCAA champion Heels (4-0). They advanced to meet Syracuse (3-0) in today's championship game (7:15 p.m., ESPN2). Ohio State will face California in the consolation game.

The Orange routed No. 13 Cal, 95-73, in the night's first semifinal behind Scoop Jardine's 22 points and Wesley Johnson's 17 points and 11 rebounds.

"I think this next game, these teams are bigger, stronger, more physical teams," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said in reference to Carolina and Ohio State (2-1). "It will be a great test for us. We are just trying to find our way and hopefully get there."

"Jimmy's a good friend, we play golf together, as a matter of fact I owe him some money," Carolina coach Roy Williams said of Boeheim, whose team beat Williams' Kansas Jayhawks in the 2003 NCAA championship game.

After trailing 38-24 at the break, Ohio State outscored Carolina 49-39 in the second half.

Ohio State trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half, but closed to within 74-70 on a layup by David Lighty with 22 seconds remaining.

Drew made 1-of-2 free throws to push it to 75-70 but Ohio State's Jon Diebler answered with a 3-pointer to make it 75-73 with 15 seconds left.

P.J. Hill committed a foul on Dew with 11.3 seconds left and he made both foul shots for a 77-73 lead.

William Buford missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"Great basketball team. I'm proud of the way our guys fought back in it, but it just wasn't enough," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said.

Ohio State star Evan Turner, a 6-7 junior guard, led the Buckeyes with 23 points and 11 rebounds and Diebler added 17 points.

The Heels outshot the Buckeyes (49 percent to 42 percent), outrebounded them (32-31) and held Ohio State to just 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc (6-for-20).

Carolina limited the Buckeyes to just 29 percent shooting in the first half (9-for-31), while converting 48 percent and outscoring Ohio State 20-14 in the paint.

Carolina improved to 27-8 all-time at Madison Square Garden.

In his only previous appearance in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, coach Williams led Kansas to the title in 2000 with victories over UCLA and St. John's.

In order to win this event again, the Heels will have to contend with Syracuse's vaunted 2-3 zone, which held Cal to just 40 percent shooting and 30 percent (6-for-20) from beyond the arc.

Syracuse also forced 15 Cal turnovers and blocked nine shots.

Jardine was especially effective for the Orange, adding 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals to his game-high point total.

Boeheim is touting Johnson, a 6-7 junior forward who transferred from Iowa State, as a potential Big East Player of the Year and said he only showed about "50 percent of what he can do" against the Golden Bears."

NORTH CAROLINA (4-0) — Graves 6-12 0-1 14, Thompson 4-12 7-8 15, Davis 3-4 1-1 7, Ginyard 4-6 2-2 13, Drew II 2-3 6-10 11, Strickland 0-2 0-0 0, Watts 2-2 0-0 5, Henson 1-3 0-0 2, D.Wear 0-0 0-0 0, T.Wear 2-3 0-0 4, Zeller 2-6 2-3 6. Totals 26-53 18-25 77.

OHIO STATE (2-1) — Madsen 1-3 0-0 2, Turner 9-14 5-6 23, Lighty 4-9 1-4 11, Diebler 4-13 6-6 17, Buford 3-16 1-2 8, Simmons 1-2 2-2 4, Hill 2-2 0-0 4, Lauderdale 2-2 0-2 4. Totals 26-61 15-22 73.

Halftime — North Carolina 38-24.
3-point goals — North Carolina 7-15 (Ginyard 3-5, Graves 2-6, Drew II 1-1, Watts 1-1, Strickland 0-2), Ohio State 6-21 (Diebler 3-10, Lighty 2-5, Buford 1-5, Simmons 0-1).
Fouled out — Turner.
Rebounds—North Carolina 33 (Thompson 12), Ohio State 37 (Turner 11).
Assists—North Carolina 17 (Drew II 8), Ohio State 10 (Turner 4).
Total Fouls—North Carolina 21, Ohio State 22.
A—15,635.