Ohio State fought back from an 11-point second-half deficit to put itself in position to win against No. 12 North Carolina, but a late-game turnover and last-second miss left the Buckeyes one point short.
The Buckeyes (8-3) battled to a one-point loss against North Carolina (11-1) in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #12 NORTH CAROLINA | 34 | 37 | 71 |
| OHIO STATE | 31 | 39 | 70 |
Devin Royal enjoyed perhaps his best outing since switching to the small forward position for Ohio State, scoring 18 points and hauling in eight rebounds to lead the charge. Four other Buckeyes hit double-figures, including Bruce Thornton (16), John Mobley Jr. (13), Christoph Tilly (12) and freshman forward Amare Bynum (11), who made his first career start against the Tar Heels.
Superstar North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson proved tough to contain, gobbling up 20 points and 15 rebounds. Guard Seth Trimble and center Henri Veesaar added 17 points each for the Tar Heels.
First Half
| NORTH CAROLINA | STAT | OHIO STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | POINTS | 70 |
| 28-63 (44.4%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 25-63 (39.7%) |
| 8-27 (29.6%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-20 (20%) |
| 7-13 (53.8%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 16-19 (84.2%) |
| 7 | TURNOVERS | 6 |
| 39 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 39 |
| 12 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 13 |
| 27 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 26 |
| 15 | BENCH POINTS | 0 |
| 5 | BLOCKS | 3 |
| 4 | STEALS | 5 |
| 22 | ASSISTS | 17 |
The game was a slog early as Ohio State and North Carolina opened a combined 4-of-23 from the field. Bynum proved the best source of offense for the Buckeyes in those opening minutes, scoring one basket off an offensive rebound and stickback high off the glass, then another on a two-handed slam.
While the Tar Heels shot a meager 4-of-15 from 3-point range in the first half, 7-foot center Henri Veesaar knocked one down from well beyond the arc to give North Carolina a 10-7 advantage seven minutes into the game. Thornton answered with his first basket, a midrange make, then Christoph Tilly followed with a baby hook to hand Ohio State an 11-10 edge.
Back and forth the blows went for another five minutes. North Carolina got its transition game going, with a pair of old-fashioned 3-point plays from guard Seth Trimble and a dunk from forward Jarin Stevenson coming on fast break opportunities. A Royal 3-pointer and nice post work from Bynum delivered counterpunches, and Ohio State held tight down 20-19.
That's where the Tar Heels took off for the game's first big run. Veesaar sparked it, and guard Jaydon Young closed the 7-0 jaunt with a 3-pointer that placed North Carolina ahead by eight points, then a Wilson make pushed it to nine at 29-20 after a Royal free throw.
But the Buckeyes answered with an 11-2 run of their own to knot the game back up at 31-31, seven of those 11 points coming from Royal and the other four from Thornton. A 3-pointer from North Carolina guard Derek Dixon made the halftime score 34-31 UNC. Both sides shot worse than 27% from 3 in the opening 20 minutes.
Second Half
Completely contrary to the opening of the first half, the second half started with a lot of offense. The two teams scored a combined 23 points in the first four minutes.
Trimble canned two triples and Wilson added five more points for North Carolina. Royal kept Ohio State hanging on, scoring a basket on a drive-and-finish and another on a spin and fadeaway jumper from inside the paint. Trimble's second 3-pointer made it 47-41 Tar Heels at the first media timeout, however.
A slam and a euro step into a transition layup from Wilson gave North Carolina its largest lead to that point at 51-41 before Tilly answered with a finger roll inside. Mobley added a deep 2-pointer, but Veesaar hit yet another 3-pointer before Stevenson tipped an offensive rebound to himself and laid it back in to make it 56-45 with 11:14 to play.
Thornton started heating up, trying to keep Ohio State in contact with an awesome double-clutch layup and two other pull-ups inside the paint. But defensively, the Buckeyes kept struggling to generate stops and to grab defensive rebounds on the stops they did get. Wilson grabbed four offensive rebounds for the Tar Heels in the first 11 minutes of the half. Bynum picked up his fourth personal foul with nine minutes to play, so center Ivan Njegovan received a handful of important minutes down the stretch.
A Royal layup cut the lead to six, only for Trimble to hit a 3-pointer and make it 62-53 North Carolina with 6:40 remaining. Ohio State cut it to 62-57, then Wilson slammed down an alley-oop over Tilly. But still, the Buckeyes battled.
Bynum got a second-chance look and hit a layup through a Veesaar foul, then hit the added free throw. Tilly hit a pretty floater to cut the lead to 64-62, Wilson hit a spin move into a layup, Tilly drew a foul to make it 66-64. Bynum fouled out with 2:37 to play, however.
Thornton sliced the lead down to one point at 67-66 on a midrange jumper. Then, Mobley pulled up at least six feet behind the 3-point line, drew a foul and swished the jumper. Ohio State led for the first time since it was 16-15 in the first half after Mobley finished the four-point play, making it 70-67 with 48.7 seconds left.
4-point play for the lead
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 20, 2025
John Mobley Jr. drills the trey and gets fouled to give @OhioStateHoops a late lead over No. 12 UNC.
: CBS pic.twitter.com/W5eaEY4SG5
Trimble hit a layup inside, then a costly turnover against full-court press defense by Colin White gave North Carolina the ball back. Mobley knocked the ball loose from Trimble's hands, but Veesaar scooped it up and slammed home the eventual game-winner. Mobley's last-second attempt at a deep 3-point shot was no good.
What's Next?
Ohio State gets its final non-power conference foe in Grambling State at home on Tuesday before full-time Big Ten play begins. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Game Notes
- Amare Bynum made his first career start at the exact same time John Mobley Jr. did as a freshman one year ago, 11 games into Ohio State's season.
- Ohio State is now 3-14 all-time against North Carolina.
