By R.L. Bynum
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Seth Trimble sat on one end of a somber dressing room, emotional and struggling to process the end of his Carolina career.
The senior guard, who tied his career high by playing 43 minutes, tried to explain what he couldn’t understand himself: how the No. 21 Tar Heels let a 19‑point second‑half lead slip away in an 82–78 overtime loss to VCU on Thursday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The disappointment was layered. Frustration with the game, the collapse and the abrupt ending. And the realization that, after four years, he had worn Carolina blue for the last time.
“It just sucks. Very sad,” Trimble said quietly, lamenting that he thought the team had the talent to make a run in the NCAA tournament. “The other thing is just knowing I won’t be able to get to wear this jersey again, [I] will not be able to represent the university in a way that you dreamed of as a kid.”
Trimble tried his best not to make excuses, admitting that many starters were tired down the stretch as Coach Hubert Davis leaned heavily on them. Trimble scored 15 points, but tied his career-high by playing 43 minutes (also in an overtime win over Boston College in 2025).
He tried not to question the strategy of deciding to switch more on defense in the second half while pointing out that he had done a good job defending Terrence Hill Jr., who ended up with 34 points.
Davis only played six players for the entire second half, and Trimble acknowledged it took a toll. Zayden High, Kyan Evans and Jaydon Young didn’t play after halftime, and Jonathan Powell’s 10 minutes accounted for the only bench playing time in the second half and overtime.
“I was pretty fatigued,” he said. “I found a way to push it because I was eager to win. And I really, really wanted it.”
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“Our rotation shrank up a little bit in that second half. I think it definitely got the best of some guys,” he said.
He also did not hide from his own missed chances, including a missed free-throw attempt with 35 seconds left in overtime.
“I know I missed the free throw at the end of the game. I know it was not perfect, but the one thing I can say is that I really tried. I really gave everything I had,” he said.
The frustration mounted as VCU chipped away. Several of the Rams’ late-game baskets came off switches that left Trimble on bigger players or left VCU’s hot shooters in rhythm.
“I felt like we started switching things a lot more in that last half after their big hit two threes, and it just went downhill from there,” Trimble said. “Defensively, I feel like we made that one little change, and it went downhill from there.”
He believed his individual defense against Hill was strong early on.
“He took great advantage of his matchups. Every time he got a switch that he really liked, he took advantage, and he went to work,” Trimble said. “He was still having a good game, but I thought I was doing somewhat a good job containing it and making things tough.
“I’m never going to pinpoint things on my teammates,” Trimble said. “That’s not the reason why we lost. But when we went away from that, I feel like it made it easier [for Hill].
Offensively, the Tar Heels sputtered, going through long stretches without baskets in regulation and overtime.
“Our offense stalled out for sure,” Trimble said. “I think overtime was as simple as that. We were getting great looks, shots just were not falling.”
Trimble was asked whether he wished Carolina had gone deeper into the bench as the game tightened, but he chose not to criticize.
“It definitely crosses your mind,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, you are going to do what you have to do to win. If that is what the coaches felt like, that is what they felt like.”
When asked whether the team lacked toughness in the final minutes, something Trimble had pointed to after earlier losses this season.
“Down the stretch, yeah,” he said. “We got stops. We had a lot of possessions that we just did not capitalize on. So I do not think the reason we lost was because of a lack of toughness.”
Then there was the larger perspective, the four years that ended with emotion in a Greenville dressing room. Trimble paused several times, trying to put the journey into words.
“It’s been the best journey that I could ever dream of,” he said. “I faced everything here. I succeeded, I failed, learned a lot, and a lot was given back to me. A huge part of that was because of where I was and the jersey I put on. I am just super, super grateful.”
Before he stood up for the final time as a Tar Heel, Trimble was asked about Hubert Davis and the job he has done. The guard did not hesitate.
“He has helped me grow. He has helped me persevere, and he has helped me become a better man,” Trimble said. “Everybody has a flaw. Coach Davis is not the perfect coach, but he is the coach that has made me better. He has made guys better, and he’s shown he can win here. I know he gets hate, but I’ll continue to ride with him.”
That ride is over for him, though.
South Regional
FIRST FOUR
Wednesday’s game
No. 16 Prairie View A&M 76, No. 16 Lehigh 55
FIRST ROUND
Thursday’s games
Oklahoma City
No. 4 Nebraska 76, No. 13 Troy 47
No. 5 Vanderbilt 78, No. 12 McNeese State 68
Greenville, S.C.
No. 11 VCU 86, No. 6 North Carolina 78, OT
No. 3 Illinois 105, No. 14 Penn 70
Oklahoma City
No. 10 Texas A&M 73, No. 7 St. Mary’s 50
No. 2 Houston 78, No. 15 Idaho 47
Friday’s games
Tampa, Fla.
No. 9 Iowa 67, No. 8 Clemson 61
No. 1 Florida 114, Prairie View A&M 55
SECOND ROUND
Saturday games
Oklahoma City
Nebraska 74, Vanderbilt 72
Greenville, S.C.
Illinois 76, VCU 55
Oklahoma City
Houston 88, Texas A&M 57
Sunday game
Tampa, Fla.
Iowa 73, Florida 72
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
Houston
Thursday, March 26
Iowa (23–12) vs. Nebraska (28–6)
Illinois (26–8) vs. Houston (30–6)
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Houston
Saturday, March 28
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. 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. 17 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. 11 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. 9 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. 1 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at No. 25 Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 77–64 | at Syracuse | 21–6, 9–5 |
| 23 | Monday | W, 77–74 | vs. Louisville | 22–6, 10–5 |
| 28 | Saturday | W, 89–82 | vs. Virginia Tech | 23–6, 11–5 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 67–63 | vs. Clemson | 24–6, 12–5 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 76–61 | at No. 1 Duke | 24–7, 12–6 |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte | |
| 12 | Thursday | L, 80–79 | Quarterfinals: vs. Clemson | 24–8 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 19 | Thursday | L, 82–78, OT | First round: vs. VCU in Greenville, S.C. | 24–9 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
