They weren’t leaving Maui without beating North Carolina. Or at least put up the best wire-to-wire fight they could. It’s as if they firmly understood that if you want to be taken seriously,

LAHAINA, Hawaii — Tre Holloman and Xavier Booker combined for eight points in overtime and Michigan State held off No. 12 North Carolina 94-91 on Wednesday night for third place in the Maui Invitational.

Tre Holloman is a third-year guard at Michigan State who had appeared in 76 games for the Spartans before Wednesday. Career starts: two. Starts this season: zero. But with an opponent in North Carolina that starts three guards 6-foot-3 or smaller,