Anytime a team like North Carolina plays in a competitive game like it did against Ohio State in the annual CBS Sports Classic, there are going to be several players who greatly contributed to help the team secure
the one point win. It takes a full team effort to get a win like that, and before moving on to the player of the game, here are some shout outs to guys who helped the Tar Heels get the victory.
Shout out — as always — to the twin towers Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson, who each finished with a double-double for the fifth time this season. Veesaar, who had his sixth double-double of the year, opened the game up strong by scoring 7 of North Carolina’s first 10 points and leading the Tar Heel’s at the half with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Wilson meanwhile recorded his eighth double-double of the season (which was also his fifth in which he scored at least 20 points) after coming on strong late and scoring 16 of his game-leading 20 points in the second half.
Another shout out to Jarin Stevenson, who came off the bench for the first time this season. The move allowed coach Hubert Davis to mix the big wing into the front court rotation and keep Zayden High and James Brown on the bench for the whole game. Not every player handles that kind of demotion well, though Stevenson seemed to do fine playing high energy ball — including the key steal with UNC down by one as time dwindled — despite going 0-4 from beyond the arc (he is now 2-20 in his past seven games). His willingness to come off the bench led to Davis being able to start the player of the game…
Seth Trimble earns Player of the Game by scoring 17 points, grabbing two rebounds, and dishing out three assists in his first game since returning from an injury that sidelined him for the past 9 contests. None of those numbers led the team, but Trimble came up big at the end with the Tar Heels trailing by 3 with less than a minute remaining. First he made the driving layup to cut the score to one. Then, after the Stevenson steal, he made the falling assist to Veesaar that ended up being the winning basket.
Additionally, Trimble’s presence was felt on defense where he held the Buckeye’s leading scorer — top 10 nationally entering the game — to just 16 points (most of which came when Trimble wasn’t defending him) on 7-16 shooting and 0-4 from the three. It was Thorton’s second worst shooting day (he had a worst game against App State, though the Buckeyes won by 20) and his worst shooting from behind the arc on the year. With Trimble back, opposing guards — like Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr, for example — are going to have a lot harder time against UNC.
