Veesaar & Wilson Spark 85-70 Win Over St. Bonaventure – University of North Carolina Athletics
FORT MYERS, FLA.— Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson both dominated with double-doubles as No. 16 North Carolina pulled away in the second half and overpowered St. Bonaventure, 85-70, on Tuesday evening in the Fort Myers Tip-Off at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
Veesaar posted career highs with 24 points and 13 rebounds while adding three assists, and Wilson had his fourth consecutive double-double with 18 points and 12 boards. He is the first Tar Heel freshman to post four straight double-doubles.
Kyan Evans had 11 points despite foul trouble, and Luka Bogavac scored 10 with a game-high four assists.
Carolina led by just two points at halftime, 35-33, before it blitzed the Bonnies, 50-37, after intermission. UNC shot 53.3 percent in the second half and 50.9 percent in the game.
In five seasons under head coach Hubert Davis, the Tar Heels are 39-1 when hitting at least half of their field goal tries.
With the win, UNC improved to 6-0 this season, its best start since opening 7-0 in the NCAA championship season of 2016-17. St. Bonaventure fell to 5-1.
Carolina hit 21 of 27 free throws as a team while also out-rebounding SBU, 40-31. UNC has won seven straight games when it makes 20 or more free throws.
The Tar Heels turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, leading to 10 points for the Bonnies. In the second half, UNC committed just two turnovers, and neither led to points for SBU.
How It Happened
First Half
• After falling behind, 3-0, on a three-pointer in the opening minute, Carolina went on a 15-2 run to take a 15-5 lead and force a Bonnies timeout in the first four minutes.
• Both teams shot well early, and St. Bonaventure hit 6 of 8 shots to tie the game at 28-all with 6:27 left in the first half.
• Veesaar and Wilson were the best players on the court for much of the first half. Veesaar had eight points and eight rebounds, and Wilson tallied 9 points and five boards in the opening 20 minutes.
• UNC led by as many as 11 points early (with 11:39 left in the half), but the Bonnies took advantage of Tar Heel turnovers and slowly clawed back to make it a close contest later in the period.
• UNC led, 35-33, at the break.
Second Half
• Carolina seized momentum early in the second half and matched its biggest lead at 11 points just over six minutes into the second period at 54-43.
• SBU came out of the locker room shooting cold from the field, missing 10 of its first 14 attempts from the floor.
• UNC used a 9-0 run to take a 58-43 lead after 7+ minutes in the half.
• The Bonnies chipped away at the lead to trail by as few as 10 points midway through the second half before the Tar Heels used their size and depth to build their lead back to 69-52 with 7:54 to play.
Up Next
Carolina will continue play in the Fort Myers Tipoff on Thanksgiving Thursday against Michigan State at 4:30 p.m. on FOX.
