By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Carolina led for less than a half-second, but that’s all the Tar Heels needed to add a legendary game to the history books.
Derek Dixon drove inside and fired a laser skip pass to Seth Trimble, who sank the shot of his life. The senior’s corner 3-pointer with 0.4 of a second left gave No. 14 North Carolina a thrilling 71–68 victory over No. 4 Duke on Saturday at the Smith Center for a fifth straight win, leading to a pair of court-storming celebrations.
“You dream stuff like this as a kid,” Trimble said. “You dream of stuff like this even as a grown man before you go to sleep. I never would have thought that would have been me.”
For Hubert Davis, it couldn’t have been scripted any better, because it came from the program’s lone four-year player.
“That shot was made by the perfect person at the right time. He should be celebrated,” Davis said after his team rallied from a six-point deficit with 2:51 left. “He’ll be remembered for the rest of his life in Carolina history, and I couldn’t think of a better person to have that with him.”
The game-winning shot, the latest in a game since Luke Maye beat Kentucky with 0.3 of a second left in 2016, triggered the initial court-storming and plenty of chaos. After the referees determined there was time left, and Duke couldn’t get off the shot, the craziness repeated itself.
UNC (19–4, 6–3 ACC) could never get over the hump for the better part of the second half before Trimble’s clutch shot did it in the last second to end a 10-game win streak for Duke (21–2, 10–1).
Davis said that his team proved something to itself.
“It’s great ammunition for me to let them know .. what perseverance looks like, what toughness looks like, what staying and sticking together looks like, what being a team looks like,” he said. “Great examples of all that for these guys to cling to, lean on to allow us to reach our full potential as a team.”
Cameron Boozer (24 points) outscored Caleb Wilson (23), but had four turnovers and missed two driving shots in the final 70 seconds.
Trimble collected 16 points, three steals and two rebounds. Dixon scored eight points and dished out a game-high four assists.
“I’ve been there before in this atmosphere at Kentucky, having the experience down the stretch of Virginia,” Dixon said. “Just try to build on those experiences and just trying to make the right play.”
After a scoreless first half, Henri Veesaar was big after halftime with 13 points and a all but two of his team-high 11 rebounds for his ACC-leading 13th double-double.
“Henri stepped up,” Davis said. “He had zero defensive rebounds in the first half, and he had a double-double in the second half. So, his ability to dominate points in the paint, for us, was huge.”
Carolina took advantage of Duke’s foul trouble, with center Patrick Ngongba (4 points, tying his season-low) fouling out and Cameron Boozer finishing with four fouls. At the same time, the Heels were whistled for only one of their seven fouls after halftime.
Duke did a good job of slowing the tempo for much of the game, but the Blue Devils lost control of the flow late, going scoreless in the last 2:50.
“I thought our guys were incredibly ready to play throughout the entire game,” Duke coach John Scheyer said. “ Really, we were in control of the game. I think you look at this sequence, we’re up seven and we give up three consecutive threes. I think that’s a clear point you can look at, just our defense has to be better, and we have to be stronger with the ball. You know, we’ll learn from this. We’ll grow from this.”
It was a rough start for the Tar Heels. UNC called a timeout after failing to secure a rebound in the first five minutes and falling behind by nine. Duke continued the 14–2 run afterward, going up by 13 on a Maliq Brown layup at 13:18.
Wilson single-handedly got UNC back in the game with 13 points, a 3-pointer and an assist (on a Jonathan Powell 3-pointer) in a 17–6 run. That cut the lead to one, 23–22, with 7:27 left in the first half, on two Wilson free throws.
Davis said Wilson was the reason the Tar Heels stayed within striking distance early.
“He basically put us on his back in the first half,” Davis said. “For whatever reason, I just felt like we were a little tight or a little too amped up. An, as a result of that, I felt like we were making mistakes on both ends of the floor, making mistakes on switches that we’ve done, not just against Duke, but a number of teams. So, we’re giving up layups, putting them on the free-throw line, wide-open 3s, and he’s the one who kept us close.”
Wilson, playing in his first Duke-Carolina game, said the atmosphere lived up to everything he imagined.
“It was exactly how I thought it was gonna be,” he said. “We pulled it together. We stuck together at the end.”
Duke went up by six before Luka Bogavac’s 3-pointer with 4:10 left in the first half ended a nearly six-minute UNC field-goal drought. The Blue Devils shoved the lead to 12 during an 11–2 run with three straight 3-pointers, two from Cameron Boozer, to lead 41–29 at halftime. Carolina had more turnovers (4) than field goals (2) in the final 6:45 of the first half.
Veesaar’s first four points of the game came during an 8–2 run to cut Duke’s lead to five with 13:55 left in the second half, but it was back to nine on a Cameron Boozer 3 with 8:23 remaining.
Veesaar said the second half showed what Carolina can be when it follows the blueprint.
“When we stick to the coach’s plan, seeing that the coach’s plan works and everybody following is just special,” he said.
UNC got within four, 62–58 at 5:54, when a Dixon 3-pointer capped an 8–3 run. The lead swung between six and four, going back to the latter when a short Trimble jumper made it 66–62 with 3:16 left.
Back-to-back 3s from Dixon and Veesaar tied it with 1:40 left. UNC got the ball back after Cameron Boozer missed on a drive, calling a timeout with 50.8 seconds left, but Trimble turned the ball over on a drive.
Trimble admitted that the mistake lingered in the moment.
“I was really frustrated with myself,” he said. “But then it was time to get a stop. We were just very ready to get a stop.”
Cameron Boozer missed on a drive again, this time with 13.9 seconds left, and Trimble pulled down the rebound. UNC got the ball after a timeout with 10.6 seconds left and called the timeout that led to the game-winner.
Davis said the final play unfolded exactly as Carolina practiced it, with a skip pass to the opposite corner as one of the options.
“Derek’s pass was amazing,” Davis said. “He looked, checked down all the options, and the one open option, his defender came over, and he skipped it to the corner. It was one of the options on the play. Seth stepped up and knocked down the shot.”
Dame Sarr had 13 points and two 3-pointers for the Blue Devils, while Isaiah Evans added 11 points.
Notes
— UNC is back on the road Tuesday, facing Miami (18–5, 7–3) at 7 p.m. (ESPN). The Hurricanes won 74–68 on Saturday at Boston College for their third win in the last four games.
— Trimble’s game-winner is the first field goal to beat Duke with fewer than 10 seconds to play since Dante Calabria’s tip-in with 6½ seconds left on Jan. 31, 1997, in a 73–72 UNC win in the Smith Center.
— The three-point margin is Carolina’s closest in a win over Duke since a 75–73 win on March 5, 2005, when Sean May had 26 points and 24 rebounds and Marvin Williams converted a three-point play with 17 seconds remaining.
— The comeback from a 12-point halftime deficit equaled Carolina’s fifth-largest in Smith Center history. It was the largest since trailing Florida State by 12 at the half on Feb. 27, 2021.
— It was UNC’s first win over a top-five ranked team since beating No. 4 Baylor in the second round of the 2022 NCAA tournament.
— This is the first season UNC has defeated Kansas, Kentucky and Duke since the 1981–82 national championship season.
— For the first time since the loss to California, Jarin Stevenson started instead of Jaydon Young, his 15th start of the season. Young played one first-half minute.
— Dame Sarr made only 6 of 30 3-point attempts in ACC play before going 2 of 3 against UNC.
— Wilson scored at least 20 points for the fifth consecutive game.
— Wilson scored 17 of UNC’s 29 points in the first half, the first time a Tar Heel outscored the rest of the team in a half sin ce RJ Davis did it in both halves against Miami on Feb. 26, 2024.
—UNC ended a three-game skid against Duke and leads the all-time series 146–117, including 22–19 at the Smith Center.
No. 14 UNC 71, No. 4 Duke 68
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 10–1 | 21–2 | 3 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 10–1 | 20–4 | 31 |
| No. 18 Virginia | 9–2 | 20–3 | 16 |
| N.C. State | 9–2 | 18–6 | 25 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 7–3 | 19–4 | 27 |
| Miami | 7–3 | 18–5 | 37 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 7–4 | 17–6 | 17 |
| SMU | 5–5 | 16–7 | 34 |
| California | 5–6 | 17–7 | 55 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–6 | 16–8 | 57 |
| Florida State | 4–6 | 11–12 | 101 |
| Stanford | 4–7 | 15–9 | 79 |
| Syracuse | 4–7 | 13–11 | 69 |
| Wake Forest | 2–8 | 11–12 | 70 |
| Boston College | 2–8 | 9–14 | 150 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–9 | 11–13 | 143 |
| Notre Dame | 2–9 | 11–13 | 87 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–9 | 9–15 | 114 |
* — Through Friday games
Saturday’s results
N.C. State 82, Virginia Tech 71
No. 18 Virginia 72, Syracuse 59
No. 24 Louisville 88, Wake Forest 80
Miami 74, Boston College 68
SMU 86, Pittsburgh 67
Florida State 82, Notre Dame 79
No. 14 North Carolina 71, No. 4 Duke 68
No. 20 Clemson 77, California 55
Stanford 95, Georgia Tech 72
Monday’s game
N.C. State at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
No. 14 North Carolina at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 18 Virginia at Florida State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Notre Dame at SMU, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 4 Duke at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday’s games
Virginia Tech at No. 20 Clemson, ACC Network
California at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Boston College, 9 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday, Feb. 14, games
No. 20 Clemson at No. 4 Duke, noon, ESPN
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame, noon, The CW
California at Boston College, noon, ACC Network
Pittsburgh at No. 14 North Carolina, 2 p.m., ESPN
Florida State at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Syracuse, 2 p.m., The CW
No. 24 Louisville vs. Baylor in Fort Worth, Texas, 4 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Stanford at Wake Forest, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Miami at N.C. State, 4 p.m., ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU
No. 18 Virginia vs. Ohio State in Nashville, 8 p.m., Fox
| 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 | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 4 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 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 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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