BIRMINGHAM, Ala. It's not the final four North Carolina dreamed of at the beginning of the season, but nonetheless, the Tar Heels are still alive for a championship - in the National Invitation Tournament.

Led by senior Deon Thompson's first double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds) since November, a career-high-tying 14 points from freshman John Henson and another key late-game drive to the basket by point guard Larry Drew II, the fourth-seeded Tar Heels beat No. 2 seed Alabama-Birmingham 60-55 at Bartow Arena on Tuesday night.

North Carolina (19-16), which has won three straight games for the first time since December, will play the winner of tonight's Virginia Tech-Rhode Island game next Tuesday at 9 p.m. in the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

"It just gets back to another opportunity for this team to continue to play, and to build on this little run that we've got going - and end this season with a better taste in our mouth," said senior Marcus Ginyard, who finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. "Knowing that we didn't play up to our capabilities in the regular-season and ACC tournament, it's just another opportunity to get out here and to really show ourselves that we're a better basketball than we've been showing."

For the third straight game, North Carolina did something it couldn't manage during the regular season: it closed out a victory down the stretch.

Despite North Carolina's 11 turnovers and 34.5 percent shooting in the first half, the score was knotted 47-47 with 4 minutes, 21 seconds left in the game after UAB's Jamarr Sanders - fouled by Will Graves on a 3-point attempt - buried all three free throws.

Henson, who got into foul trouble early in the game, scored on a dunk, then a hook shot, to pull the Tar Heels ahead 51-47. With 1:17 left, Thompson buried one free throw to pad the lead, and after UAB hit two foul shots, Drew - who made the winning layup at Mississippi State on Saturday in the second round - drove to the bucket, again, to give his team a 54-49 cushion with 46 seconds left.

"My confidence is right where it should be going into the last couple games of the season," said Drew, who finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. "I'm just trying to go out there and showcase it by making the right plays, the smart plays."

UAB - which hadn't scored a field goal since the 10:21 mark - finally got a basket when reserve Dexter Fields scored on a putback to cut the lead to 54-51 with 34.6 seconds left. But Drew buried two free throws with 30.1 seconds left, teammate Dexter Strickland buried two free throws, then Ginyard buried two more down the stretch to seal it.

Elijah Millsap - who scored the Blazers' first 13 points of the second half, but didn't score again until a meaningless putback with 13 seconds left - led UAB (25-9) with 18 points. But his team shot 28.8 percent for the game, helping the Tar Heels advance.

"This means a lot, to be able to finish out the season this way," said North Carolina forward Tyler Zeller, who pulled down seven rebounds despite suffering a mild concussion and laceration above his left eye that required five stitches on Saturday.

"I know it's not the tournament we'd like to be in, but at the same time, we've gotten back on roll, we've finally figured things out, and we're playing well."

Percentages: FG .415, FT .650. 3-Point Goals: 3-14, .214 (Drew II 2-4, Ginyard 1-2, Strickland 0-1, McDonald 0-3, Graves 0-4). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 7 (Zeller 5, Henson, Ginyard). Turnovers: 15 (Drew II 3, Zeller 3, Thompson 2, Strickland 2, Ginyard 2, McDonald, Henson, Graves). Steals: 3 (Thompson, Strickland, Zeller). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .288, FT .731. 3-Point Goals: 6-19, .316 (Sanders 4-8, Fields 1-2, Drake 1-4, Crawford 0-1, Johnson 0-2, Millsap 0-2). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 2 (Millsap, Drake). Turnovers: 12 (Crawford 6, Johnson 2, Sanders 2, Millsap 2). Steals: 7 (Johnson 2, Sanders 2, Fields, Crawford, Drake). Technical Fouls: None.

Att.-8,889. Officials-Mike Stuart, James Barker, Bret Smith.