MILWAUKEE — For too long, this time with the season on the line and slipping into peril, North Carolina reverted to the skittish and punchless form that plagued earlier parts of the season.

The Tar Heels corrected course and staged another furious second-half rally, but still fell short of Mississippi 71-64 on Friday in the NCAA Tournament at Fiserv Forum, a season-ending loss done in by the damage of a 22-point deficit.

Frazzled and ineffective, UNC tumbled behind by 19 in the first half and trailed by 22 with about 17½ minutes remaining, before roaring to life and zooming back into contention. The Tar Heels climbed within 63-59 and 65-61 in the game’s final 5½ minutes, and later RJ Davis’ tough three-point play chopped Ole Miss’ lead to 66-64 with 1:09 left.

But again, Carolina couldn’t get over the hump against a quality opponent, a scenario that regularly unfolded across the course of this season. Sean Pedulla answered Davis’ three-point play by swishing a dagger 3-pointer, and the No. 6 seed Rebels led 69-64 with 52.8 seconds to go, on their way to safety.

The fifth-year senior Davis scored 15 points in his final college basketball game, but finished 6-for-17 in the process. Ven-Allen Lubin added 14 points, but was forced to the UNC bench for long stretches due to foul trouble. He picked up his fourth foul at the 14:49 mark of the second half.

So the season came to an end for these No. 11 seed Tar Heels (23-14), who arrived off a scorching performance in the First Four portion of the tournament. But Carolina missed a number of lay-ins on attacking moves to the basket here Friday, and also went just 5-for-24 from 3-point range. UNC forward Jae’Lyn Withers was lost to an apparent right ankle or foot injury here on Friday early in the second half.

Pedulla, the Virginia Tech transfer, paced Ole Miss (23-11) with 20 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Dre Davis had 15 points and Duke transfer Jaemyn Brakefield had 12 points for the Rebels, who advance to meet No. 3 seed Iowa State on Sunday.

(Photo: Jim Hawkins / Inside Carolina)

Rebels take fight to Tar Heels, punch way to big lead

Ole Miss led 44-26 by halftime, a juncture by which Carolina had fallen all out of sorts while tumbling far behind on the scoreboard. The Rebels missed their last seven attempts from the field to close the first half, but still reached intermission shooting 51.9 percent from the field, including 7-for-13 from 3-point range.

Seth Trimble and Ven-Allen Lubin were handcuffed by two fouls apiece in the first half. Trimble, who provided 16 points off the bench during the Tar Heels’ stomping of San Diego State in the First Four, didn’t take a shot in the first half.

Dre Davis’ 13 first-half points fueled the Rebels, who also got 10 first-half points off the bench from Jaemyn Brakefield, the Duke transfer. Davis pumped in 11 quick points during the game’s opening nine minutes, mostly on 3-for-3 shooting beyond the arc. And he made sure to let Jae’Lyn Withers, his former teammate at Louisville, know about what was happening with some smack talk.

At the beginning, UNC stumbled behind 11-2 out the gate, as Sean Pedulla assisted on Ole Miss’s first four buckets of the game, three of which were successful 3-pointers. UNC coach Hubert Davis called a timeout less than 3½ minutes into the game, with the Tar Heels already facing a nine-point deficit. The Rebels’ lead moved to 27-14 during the game’s first 10 minutes, before growing as wide as 44-25 later.

RJ Davis’ 10 first-half points topped the struggling Tar Heels, who went just 9-for-26 from the field (34.6 percent), including 3-for-11 from 3-point territory, and only 5-for-10 on free throws in the first half. Ole Miss, older and deeper, played with far more aggressiveness and force in the first half. Twice during the game’s opening eight minutes, 6-foot-9 Malik Dia tossed 6-10 Jalen Washington out of his way while bulldozing the UNC big man in the post.