CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Seth Trimble scored a career-high 30 points and hit two key free throws with 12.3 seconds left to help No. 18 North Carolina hold off No. 24 Louisville 77-74 on Monday night.
Trimble’s free throws made it a two-possession game after Louisville had chopped UNC’s 16-point second-half lead all the way down to 74-71.
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Freshman Mikel Brown Jr. hit a desperation 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to pull Louisville within 76-74. The Cardinals were able to foul Derek Dixon to extend the game with 0.8 seconds left, but Dixon made the second of his two free throws. Louisville had a final chance but Ryan Conwell couldn’t get off the tying shot in time after catching a long inbounds heave.
Henri Veesaar and Luka Bogavac each added 12 points for the Tar Heels (22-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who again played without injured freshman star Caleb Wilson.
North Carolina shot 53.6% for the game but had a white-knuckle finish for the home fans by going just 7 of 13 from the foul line after halftime. UNC ran off a 17-2 run out of halftime to build a 56-40 lead on Trimble’s steal and dunk that he punctuated with a triumphant scream.
Brown, a high-end NBA prospect, scored 24 points while Conwell added 23 for the Cardinals (20-8, 9-6). Louisville shot 38.8% and went 14 of 39 from 3-point range. But Louisville missed its first 10 shots out of halftime and had to battle uphill the rest of the night.
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Louisville led by 10 before UNC rallied to take a 39-38 lead at the break.
Up next
Louisville: The Cardinals visit Clemson on Saturday.
UNC: The Tar Heels host Virginia Tech on Saturday.
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