By R.L. Bynum
ATLANTA — Seth Trimble is back, and so is No. 12 North Carolina’s beautiful transition game. And then there is senior leader’s knack for making clutch plays.
Trimble dished off a bounce pass while falling down to Henri Veesaar for the game-winning dunk with seven seconds left as the Tar Heels pulled out a 71–70 win Saturday at State Farm Arena in the CBS Sports Classic over Ohio State.
UNC (11–1) had to sweat the final seconds as John Mobley Jr. missed a 3-point attempt with two seconds left. Caleb Wilson blocked Devin Royal’s follow-up attempt, after Veesaar said he “got his fingers on it,” as time ran out on Ohio State (8–3).
Trimble stumbled inside the lane before making the pass to Veesaar. He explained the drawn-up action and the improvisation that followed, saying the plan was to attack right and make a straight-line play. He slipped as he spun, but made sure the ball went where it needed to go.
“I’m gonna say this now. This was a pass,” Trimble said with a smile after playing a team-high 36 minutes, 16 seconds. “I saw Henri’s feet, and I saw him right there, and I just tried to give a bounce pass the best as I could, because I had nowhere else to go with it.”
He added with a grin that his Nikes betrayed him.
“I can’t wear those shoes again,” he said.
Once Trimble broke free on the decisive play, UNC coach Hubert Davis Davis trusted his guard’s instincts.
“He was able to find Henri around the basket, and he was able to score,” Davis said.
Trimble (17 points, 3 3-pointers, and 3 assists), playing with a sleeve on the left forearm he injured, gave Davis many more lineup options and was a big reason the Tar Heels scored 10 fast-break points after combining for only four in the previous two games. There were far more pitch-ahead passes to create easy buckets.
Davis said Trimble “opens up” the team’s versatility game to game and praised his two-way impact.
“Seth’s ability to be able to create a shot for himself and for others is the best on the team from the perimeter,” Davis said, adding that he welcomed the return of the running game, calling those pitch-aheads “a huge part of our offense.”
Trimble replaced Jarin Stevenson in the starting lineup. While Stevenson came off the bench for the first time this season, the game marked the first in which he was the backup center, with neither Zayden High nor James Brown playing.
Stevenson embraced the shift.
“We were hyped. We still have a lot of energy. We’re motivated with the defense,” said Stevenson.
UNC has gone from a team that depended heavily on two players — Veesaar (17 points, 2 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, team-high 5 assists; 6th double-double) and Wilson (20 points, season-high 15 rebounds, 3 blocks 2 assists; 8th double-double) — to getting a big boost from Trimble on both ends of the floor.
Davis pointed to the lineup flexibility that Trimble restores, noting it let him tailor matchups and defense down the stretch.
“We switched everything,” Davis said. “We had a lineup in there that we could switch everything and feel good about the one-on-one matchup, and we’re able to get it done and get a stop.”
Trimble got the defensive assignment on Ohio State star Bruce Thornton, who was held to 20 points, his sixth-lowest output of the season.
“There’s really only one guy on our team that had any chance of getting a stop on Bruce Thornton, and that was Seth,” Davis said.
Veesaar scored seven of UNC’s first 10 points, including a 3-pointer that gave UNC a 10–7 lead at 13:18 of the first half. Trimble scored six straight points, including a three-point play on beautiful fast break, to start a 16–4 UNC run. The Heels went up nine, 29–20, on Wilson’s short baseline jumper at 3:30 of the first half for two of his four first-half points.
The Buckeyes responded with an 11–2 run to tie it with 54 seconds left before Derek Dixon’s 3-pointer 14 seconds later gave UNC a 34–31 halftime lead.
The teams traded scores over the first four minutes of the second half. Trimble’s second 3-pointer during that span (after missing his first eight attempts of the season) began a 12–4 UNC run. A Veesaar 3 and Stevenson follow shot ended the run to put UNC up by 11 with 11:14 left.
After scoring only six points in the first 29 minutes, Thornton scored six straight Buckeyes points, and the Buckeyes pulled within six on a Royal jumper with 7:05 left.
A Trimble 3-pointer ended a nearly four-minute UNC field-goal drought with 6:40 left. But a flagrant-one foul on Veesaar led to a pair of Christoph Tilly free throws during a 9–2 Ohio State run to trim its deficit to two, 64–62, on a Tilly inside bucket with 3:50 left.
Thornton’s driving shot with 2:23 left cut the lead to one. After a UNC timeout, Ohio State threw up a zone, and Wilson missed a short jumper at the end of the shot clock. John Mobley Jr. then hit a 3-pointer. Wilson fouled him and he added a free throw for a four-point play with 48.7 seconds left and a three-point Buckeyes lead.
Trimble’s layup with 33.6 seconds left cut the deficit to one, then UNC’s trapping forced a turnover. Stevenson intercepted a pass with 23 seconds left to set up Veesaar’s game-winning dunk.
Stevenson said the plan had been drilled.
“We’ve been working on it, communicating,” said Stevenson, adding that the trap was built to force something shaky. “Just pressure to make them make a bad [play.]”
As the Heels defended the final possession, Davis reminded his team of the urgency and the details that had just produced the go-ahead bucket.
“We picked up full court, and they were told to aggressively try to get a steal in the back court,” Davis said.
Royal led the Buckeyes with 18 points.
“Got to give North Carolina a lot of credit,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said. “They’re a really good team, but so are we. That was the message to our guys, we’ve got to start playing more consistently like that. I think our guys will. We’ve just got to keep fighting to do it.”
Notes
— The Tar Heels return home Monday for their final nonconference game, taking on East Carolina (5–7) in the Smith Center at 8 p.m. (ACC Network). The Pirates have won their last two games, both at home, 73–70 against Buffalo on Dec. 14 and 74–53 over Presbyterian on Wednesday. ECU has the third-lowest NET ranking (288) on UNC’s schedule after Radford (297) and N.C. Central (343).
— In the first CBS Sports Classic game in Atlanta, Kentucky rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to beat St. Johns’ 78–66. Ian Jackson (10 points, 2 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 29 minutes) started at point guard for the Red Storm.
— It was the latest game-winning basket since Eliot Cadeau’s four-point play last season at Notre Dame with 4.8 seconds left.
— With Trimble starting, Stevenson came off the bench and Luka Bogavac got his 10th consecutive start. But Stevenson played 26 minutes, 44 seconds while Bogavac (2 points, 2 assists) logged only 13:13.
— Evans committed his first turnover in three games with nine minutes left in the first half on a baseline pass.
— It’s rare post-pandemic for coaches to wear a coat and tie, but all four coaches in Saturday’s two games did: Kentucky’s Mark Pope, Rick Pitino of St. John’s, Davis and Ohio State coach Jake Diebler.
— It was the fourth Carolina game in four weeks that referee Roger Ayers has worked.
— UNC has the best record in the CBS Sports Classic at 8–4.
— Carolina leads the all-time series with Ohio State 14–3 and has won nine of the last 10 meetings.
— UNC’s 53.8% free-throw shooting was its worst game since shooting 45.5% in last season’s 85–65 loss at Clemson. It was the worst in a win since shooting 47.8% last season in 93–67 victory over La Salle. It was the worst by an Ohio State opponent this season.
— Twenty-two of UNC’s 28 field goals were assisted.
— UNC had a season-low rate of free-throw attempts to field-goal attempts at 20.6%.
— Ohio State’s field-goal percentage (38.0%), 3-point percentage (20.0%), 2-point percentage (48.8%) were its second-worst this season, but the Buckeyes’ six turnovers were the second-fewest.
— Both teams had 39 rebounds, but that was the most against Ohio State this season. UNC’s five blocks were tied for the most against the Buckeyes this season.
— UNC had seven turnovers, extending its streak of single-digit turnovers to four straight games and five of the last six after getting double-digit turnovers in the first six games.
No. 12 UNC 71, Ohio State 70
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 9–0 | 20–1 | 2 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 8–1 | 18–4 | 31 |
| No. 18 Virginia | 7–2 | 18–3 | 18 |
| N.C. State | 7–2 | 16–6 | 26 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 6–3 | 18–4 | 25 |
| Miami | 6–3 | 17–5 | 39 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 5–4 | 15–6 | 17 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–5 | 16–7 | 56 |
| SMU | 4–4 | 15–6 | 34 |
| California | 4–5 | 16–6 | 51 |
| Syracuse | 4–6 | 13–10 | 78 |
| Stanford | 3–6 | 14–8 | 77 |
| Florida State | 3–6 | 10–12 | 102 |
| Boston College | 2–6 | 9–12 | 152 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–7 | 11–11 | 143 |
| Notre Dame | 2–7 | 11–11 | 85 |
| Wake Forest | 2–7 | 11–11 | 70 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–7 | 9–13 | 114 |
* — Through Saturday games
Saturday’s games
No. 14 North Carolina 91, Georgia Tech 75
No. 4 Duke 72, Virginia Tech 58
N.C. State 96, Wake Forest 78
No. 20 Clemson 63, Pittsburgh 52
No. 18 Virginia 73, Boston College 66
No. 24 Louisville 88, SMU 74
California 86, Miami 81
Florida State 88, Stanford 80
Syracuse 86, Notre Dame 72
Monday’s game
No. 14 North Carolina 87, Syracuse 77
Tuesday’s games
Boston College at No. 4 Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Pittsburgh at No. 18 Virginia, 9 p.m., ACC Network
N.C. State at SMU, 9 p.m, ESPN2
Wednesday’s games
Notre Dame at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia Tech at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
No. 20 Clemson at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
Virginia Tech at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Syracuse at No. 18 Virginia, noon, ESPN
No. 24 Louisville at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Miami at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., The CW
Florida State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., The CW
No. 4 Duke at No. 14 North Carolina, 6:30, ESPN
No. 20 Clemson at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 16 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 11 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 10 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 18 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photos by Adam Hagy/Intersport
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