Seth Trimble scores career-high 30 as No. 18 UNC holds off No. 24 Louisville

Seth Trimble scored a career-high 30 points and made two key free throws with 12.3 seconds left to help No. 18 North Carolina hold off No. 24 Louisville Monday night, 77-74. Trimble’s free throws made it a two-possession game after Louisville cut UNC’s 16-point second-half lead to 74-71. Freshman Mikel Brown Jr. made a desperation 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to pull Louisville within 76-74. The Cardinals were able to foul Derek Dixon to prolong the game with 0.8 seconds left, but Dixon made the second of his two free throws. Louisville had one last chance, but Ryan Conwell couldn’t make the game-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 ACC), who again played without injured freshman star Caleb Wilson. [COLLEGE HOOPS: UNC Loses Freshman Star Caleb Wilson to Hand Fracture; Return Timetable Unclear] North Carolina shot 53.6% for the game, but had a white knuckle for the home fans by going just 7 of 13 from the foul line after halftime. UNC went on a 17-2 halftime run to take 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 percent and made 14 of 39 from 3-point range, but Louisville missed its first 10 shots out of halftime and had to battle uphill for the rest of the night. Louisville led by 10 before UNC rallied to take a 39-38 lead at the break. Next, Louisville visits Clemson on Saturday, while UNC hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday. Associated Press reporting.