With just 18.6 seconds remaining in regulation against Boston College on Saturday, North Carolina found itself in a deep hole. The Tar Heels trailed by four points as a 19.5-point favorite at home before guard Seth Trimble knocked down a pair of free throws and hit a jumper five seconds later after Boston College turned the ball over to force overtime.
Trimble’s late-game heroics were part of the start of a near-perfect overtime period in the 102-96 win over Boston College. The 13-8 Tar Heels entered the day as one of the “Last Four In” in the latest Bracketology projections by CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm. The Tar Heels shot a perfect 4 of 4 from the field and knocked down all four of their free-throw attempts in the final five minutes.
“I do believe in the latter part of the game, specifically when we were down by four points with 18.6 seconds and in the overtime. I felt like we were locked in defensively,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said postgame. “We got the stops that we needed, the deflections, the steals that we needed to be able to get us back in the game and eventually be able to win it.”
North Carolina All-American guard RJ Davis scored seven of his team-high 22 points in overtime and forward Ven-Allen Lubin made one of the biggest plays of the day for the Tar Heels in the final minute of overtime. Lubin blocked a shot that would’ve made it a one-possession game and threw down a two-handed dunk on the other end to avoid what would have been a disastrous loss.
Had North Carolina not rallied vs. Boston College, it would’ve been a Quad 4 loss. The Eagles entered the day ranked No. 231 in the NET Rankings and sat in second-to-last place in the ACC standings behind winless Miami. North Carolina entered the weekend a perfect 7-0 against Quad 4 teams.
“This group has always found it,” Davis said. “I think they have found it when they have needed it. And it’s needed at the jump ball, and that’s something that’s just going to have to change.”
North Carolina was coming off consecutive one-point losses that pushed themselves from safely “in” the tournament field to on the bubble. The Tar Heels were on the right side of a dramatic one-point win earlier this season when guard Elliot Cadeau completed a 4-point play in a road win over Notre Dame. That win over the Fighting Irish was the start of a four-game winning streak that included wins over SMU, NC State and Cal.
The Tar Heels’ season — and NCAA Tournament hopes — could be defined by their upcoming four-game stretch, which includes games against Pitt (twice), Duke and Clemson. If history repeats itself, North Carolina could find themselves on another winning streak and in the NCAA Tournament field, but it won’t be easy for the Tar Heels going forward.
