In a game that had all the drama of March Madness packed into one December afternoon, North Carolina edged out Ohio State 71-70 in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta - and it came down to a wild final sequence that Tar Heel fans won’t soon forget.
With just seven seconds left on the clock, Henri Veesaar threw down a thunderous dunk off a feed from Seth Trimble to give UNC the lead. But that play was just the exclamation point on a game that had more twists than a Tarantino script.
Let’s rewind.
This was Trimble’s first game back from injury, and he wasted no time making his presence felt. On the decisive play, he spun into the lane, lost his footing, and still managed to find Veesaar with a bounce pass that led to the game-winner. It wasn’t drawn up to look like that, but it worked - and it capped off a monster night for Veesaar, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.
Caleb Wilson, playing in front of a hometown crowd, was a force all night. He poured in 20 points and grabbed a career-high 15 boards, earning his eighth double-double of the year. Trimble added 17 points of his own, including three made threes - tying his career high from beyond the arc.
UNC controlled most of the afternoon. After falling behind 16-14 early, the Tar Heels went on a run to build a 29-20 lead late in the first half.
Ohio State clawed back to make it a three-point game at halftime, but midway through the second half, UNC looked poised to put it away. A 58-47 lead with 10:38 remaining felt like the beginning of the end for the Buckeyes.
But Ohio State didn’t go quietly. Bruce Thornton, the Buckeyes’ go-to guy all season, hit some big shots down the stretch, and a flagrant foul on Veesaar gave OSU a critical opportunity to close the gap. They did just that - pulling within five at the six-minute mark and then cutting it to 64-62 with under four minutes to go.
Then came the gut punch for Carolina: Ohio State’s John Mobley drilled a three - their first of the second half - and drew a foul on Wilson. He hit the free throw to complete the four-point play and give the Buckeyes a 70-67 lead with under a minute left.
But UNC didn’t blink.
Trimble answered with a tough layup, cutting it to one. After a timeout, Carolina turned up the pressure with a full-court press and forced a turnover.
Another timeout. Another chance.
And that’s when Trimble, slipping in the lane, found Veesaar for the go-ahead slam.
Ohio State had one last shot. With four seconds left, Mobley pulled up from deep, but his three clanged off the back rim.
Devin Royal grabbed the rebound and put up a desperation attempt, but both Veesaar and Wilson were there to meet him at the rim. Game over.
UNC shot 44.4 percent from the field and left some points at the line, going just 7-of-13 on free throws. But they made up for it in other ways - most notably with a 15-0 edge in bench scoring. Jarin Stevenson, who returned to the bench with Trimble back in the starting five, chipped in six points and came up with the steal that set up the game-winning sequence.
Defensively, the Tar Heels made life tough for Thornton, who came in averaging over 21 points per game. He finished with 16, but needed 16 shots to get there, thanks in large part to Trimble’s work on that end.
With the win, UNC moves to 11-1 on the season - their best 12-game start since the 2008-09 campaign. They’ll look to keep the momentum rolling when they return home to face East Carolina at the Smith Center on Monday night.