Trimble Returns with Game-Winning Assist in UNC's 71-70 Win

North Carolina's Seth Trimble returned from a nine-game absence to deliver a game-winning assist in the No. 12 Tar Heels' 71-70 victory over Ohio State on Saturday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The senior guard, who had missed the previous contests after fracturing his left forearm in a November 9 weight room accident during a team workout, played 36 minutes and scored 17 points, including three of five from beyond the arc. With 7.2 seconds left and UNC trailing by one, Trimble drove into the lane but lost his footing. As he fell, he spotted teammate Henri Veesaar's feet and flipped a bounce pass that set up an emphatic dunk to secure the win in the CBS Sports Classic.

"I was trying to get a straight-line drive and make a play from there," Trimble said afterward. "But I spun and was getting ready to shoot, and I lost my footing right away. So I'm going to say this now, this was a pass. I didn't just throw the ball down. I saw Henri's feet and just tried to get him a bounce pass the best that I could."

The injury occurred when a lat pulldown machine malfunctioned during a training session, requiring surgery the following day. Trimble, a 6-foot-3 veteran known for his perimeter...