Seth Trimble made a three-pointer in the corner with 0.4 seconds remaining to help UNC erase a late deficit and stun No. 4 Duke 71-68 at the Smith Center Saturday night.
Trimble’s heroics came after Duke had led 68-62 with 2:51 remaining, but the Tar Heels got clutch threes from Derek Dixon and Henri Veesaar to even the score with 1:40 to go. UNC had a shot to potentially take the lead in the final minute, but the Blue Devil defense forced a Trimble turnover to take the ball back. On the ensuing Blue Devil possession, star freshman Cameron Boozer missed a go-ahead layup, and UNC called timeout with 10 seconds left. That set the stage for Trimble to deliver the biggest shot of his Carolina career.
“It’s perfect,” head coach Hubert Davis said of Trimble’s shot. “He was the one. Because during this time of NIL and transfer portal, having a kid as accomplished as Seth stay at one school for four years… that shot was made by the perfect person at the right time. He’s deserving of being remembered forever.”
Carolina’s 71-68 lead in the final 0.4 seconds was its first of the game. The Blue Devils had asserted control early, leading 18-5 inside of seven minutes played. Freshman star Caleb Wilson then willed the Tar Heels back in the game, scoring eight consecutive points as UNC closed to within 23-22 with 7:27 remaining in the first half.
“He basically put us on his back,” Davis said of Wilson. “For whatever reason, I felt like we were a little tight.”
After UNC had cut the deficit to one point, Duke closed the half with another strong run, outscoring the Tar Heels 18-7 entering halftime. The Blue Devils led 41-29, with brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer accounting for eight combined points in the final 3:53.
In the second half, Carolina managed to stay within striking distance but never got closer than five points until the final 5:53, when the freshman Dixon made his first three-pointer of the night to cut the deficit to 62-58. Even so, the Blue Devils still led 68-62 with 2:51 remaining after an acrobatic layup from Caleb Foster.
With the Tar Heels needing a lifeline, Dixon delivered again with another three, whittling the deficit down to three at 68-65. It was as close as the Tar Heels had been all half. Veesaar, who had been held scoreless in the first half, then erased the deficit completely with another three, evening the score at 68-68 with 1:40 on the clock.
“We’re a really gritty team,” said Jarin Stevenson, who finished with five points. “We have a lot of guys who can make plays. A lot of different people hit big shots near the end. We have it in us.”
After the teams traded empty possessions, UNC called timeout with 10 seconds to go and set up its final play. Dixon received the inbounds pass, then drove past Cameron Boozer into the lane. Duke’s defense collapsed on Dixon, who whipped a pass over the head of Wilson and into the corner, where Trimble was standing all alone. It was as open a shot as the Tar Heels saw all night.
“Boozer switched out, and at that point I tried to go make a play,” Dixon remembered. “Drove, defense collapsed, I saw Seth in the corner.”
With his shot hanging in the air, Trimble claims he had no doubt in his mind.
“I knew it was good,” he said. “I had my little fadeaway. It’s a little old man fadeaway that I have. That was the ‘I knew it was good’ fadeaway.”
The end of the game devolved into chaos, as students and fans stormed the Smith Center floor believing the game was over. The buzzer had initially gone off after Trimble’s shot. But after an official review, 0.4 seconds were restored to the game clock, and the hundreds of fans on the floor had to be ushered back off. After a minute or so of scrambling, the floor was sufficiently cleared for one last play. It ended up as a moot point: a desperate Duke inbounds pass deflected off the hands of Isaiah Evans, and the game was over. The fans then stormed the floor again, this time heading straight for the scrum of Duke players near the visiting bench. In the mayhem, several objects were thrown toward the Blue Devils, with one spectator reportedly suffering an injury. UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham issued an official apology afterward, both to the public and to Duke head coach Jon Scheyer.
Trimble ended his night with 16 points, while Wilson led the Tar Heels with 23. The freshman only sat for 14 seconds of game time. Veesaar, meanwhile, recovered from his scoreless first half to post a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. It was Veesaar’s 13th double-double of the season, most in the ACC. Cameron Boozer led all scorers with 24 points.
UNC’s dramatic win snaps a three-game winning streak for Duke in the rivalry, and also deals the Blue Devils their first ACC loss since Feb. 8, 2025. Carolina improves to 19-4 overall and 7-3 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they visit Miami Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Featured image via Todd Melet. For a full photo gallery of the game, click here.
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