'I Can't Do Anything but Praise Him': NCAA Champs Give Glory to God

The North Carolina Tar Heels captured their sixth NCAA title last night, beating the Gonzaga Bulldogs 71-65.

North Carolina overcame the memory of last year's buzzer-beating loss to Villanova in the title game, surging to victory in this year's national championship.

The two remaining #1 seeds put on quite a show, with the competition fierce right up until the last minute.  

The Tar Heels' Joel Berry II shot a team-high 22 points, making him the outstanding player of the Final Four, which he achieved despite playing on two bad ankles.

The Tar Heels came out strong and aggressive to start the game with a dunk by Theo Pinson, then big Kennedy Meeks for the jumper, followed by Joel Berry for a 3-pointer.

But Gonzaga pulled ahead to a 3-point lead, just before halftime.

During the second half, the Tar Heels came out strong again with a dunk by Kennedy Meeks. The Bulldogs put up quite a fight, keeping the game close till the very end.

But UNC pulled ahead and kept their lead to win the national championship, and after the game, several Tar Heels players gave glory to God.
 
"Ah man, it's unbelievable. We had about six or seven guys get into Bible study…have just quiet time just to be able to take it all in and keep the mindset on the Lord above. That was the most important thing," said #32 Luke Maye.

"No matter the outcome we knew He was there and He's got our back. We just went out there and wanted to play for Him. And I felt like we did that tonight. And luckily He blessed us. So it's a great feeling," Maye said.

"For me I always know God has a plan for me. You know whether it's to lose in this game again or win tonight. Uh, so for me, I place all my decisions based on that," said Justin Jackson, a 6'8" forward/guard for the Tar Heels.
 
"So for me, I felt like God was calling me to come back here," he continued. "I knew I had a great group of guys here. I knew we had a chance to come back and do some huge things. You know, God is good all the time; all the time God is good."

"At the end of the day I can't do anything but praise Him and thank Him for the abilities that He gave me and the abilities He gave this team," Jackson said.