AP National Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- When Deron Williams put up what would have been the go-ahead 3-pointer, the entire Illinois bench jumped to its feet, certain another amazing comeback was in the making.

But the ball bounced up and over the backboard. And as quickly as Illinois had found its rhythm, it was gone. Five times the Illini tried 3-pointers in the last two minutes, and five times they missed.

Instead of capping their spectacular season with a national championship, the Illini left the floor exhausted and beaten. They took a title-game record 40 3-pointers, and it wasn't enough.

Or, maybe, it was too much. With nothing left in the closing minutes, they fell to North Carolina 75-70 in Monday night's NCAA championship game.

"Our kids played themselves to the point of exhaustion taking all those 3s," coach Bruce Weber said. "You maybe don't have legs at the end. If one of those goes, maybe the pressure is on them. We got to a tie, we just never got over the hump."

The Illini (37-2) fell behind by 15 early in the second half _ the same deficit they faced against Arizona in the regional final. And just as they did against Arizona, the Illini went outside to close the gap.

Williams made three 3s and Luther Head added two more as Illinois chipped away at North Carolina's lead. Finally, with 2:40 left, Head tied the game at 70 with yet another 3.

But that was all Illinois had left. Williams missed the 3 that bounced over the backboard. After Marvin Williams scored on a tip-in, Head missed. The Illini got the ball back when Jack Ingram grabbed the rebound, but Deron Williams came up short again.

Illinois got yet another chance when North Carolina lost the ball out of bounds, but Head made a bad pass and Raymond Felton darted in to steal it away.

"I thought I saw somebody open that wasn't open," a dejected Head said. "They got a steal."

Head tried two more 3s, but neither came close. He finished with 21 points, but was just 8-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-16 from 3-point range. Williams added 17, but his shooting wasn't much better. He was 3-of-10 from long range, and 7-of-16 overall.

"Our goal was to get to the Final Four, compete for the national championship," Williams said. "It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth, not getting to cut down the nets."

But the Illini (37-2) should have seen this coming. They had been so smart with their shot selection in the regular season, taking an average of 22 3-pointers. But the further they got in the NCAA tournament, the more they seemed to fall back on the 3-pointer.

In their regional final win over Arizona, they had to take 35 3s to dig themselves out of that 15-point deficit. They took another 35 in the win over Louisville in Saturday night's semifinals.

And when they couldn't get anything going inside in the first half against North Carolina, they looked to their guards to get something going on the outside.

But after being so steady and poised all year, the Illini seemed flustered. They were putting up shots with abandon, looking as though they were in a Saturday morning rec game instead of the national championship.

They took 19 3s in the first half. They made only five of them, and their 27 percent shooting overall was their worst in any half this season as they fell behind 40-27.

"If you shoot the ball 70 times, you're going to be in trouble," Weber said. "We shot 40 3s. We had some chances down the stretch, but couldn't get it done."

When James Augustine picked up his third and fourth foul in a five-second span about a minute into the second half, the Illini looked as if they were done. Jackie Manuel made a pair of free throws on the second foul, giving the Tar Heels a 44-29 lead _ their largest of the game.

With Augustine on the bench and Roger Powell Jr. not getting much inside, Illinois had little choice but to go outside again.

But the Illini finally found their mark. Dee Brown made a 3-pointer to spark a 19-7 run, and all but four points in the spurt came on 3s.

Head made a 3 with 2:39 left, tying the game at 70. But the Illini slumped again, and never could make the big shot. Head had the last look, and it was a good one.

"The shot was wide open. I had a great look. I just missed it," Head said. "We didn't win the national championship, something me and my whole team wanted to do badly. It just left a bad taste in your mouth. It hurt."