UNC outscored East Tennessee State 28-9 in the first 12:36 of the second half to break open a close game and cruised from there to a 77-58 win.

The 28-9 run stretched to 33-9 when accounting for UNC scoring five straight points to end the first half and lead 38-30 at halftime. Prior to that, the Tar Heels hadn’t led the Buccaneers by more than six points. East Tennessee State even took the lead at 21-19 with 7:18 to go before UNC scored six straight points to retake it for good.

“I don’t want to get off to slow starts, and I felt like we did,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “It wasn’t just defensively. I didn’t feel like we were sharp on the offensive end… on both ends of the floor, it took us a little while to get into a rhythm. Once we did, it started with us defensively. I felt like it translated on the offensive end as well.

Henri Veesaar paced that Carolina offense, which posted a sizzling stat line despite the sleepy start: 27-50 (54.0 percent) overall from the floor, marking the second straight game and sixth this season the team has shot at least 50 percent. UNC also dished out 18 assists, with Jarin Stevenson accounting for a career-high four. Veesaar scored a career-high 26 points on 10-11 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. His personal field goal percentage of 90.9 is the fifth highest from a single player in the history of the Dean Smith Center, and the fourth highest by a Tar Heel.

“There’s some NBA guys like that, but I haven’t seen it at this level, the way he’s doing it right now,” guard Kyan Evans said of Veesaar’s skillset. “We all see that every day. We know he’s special.”

Freshman Caleb Wilson wasn’t far behind his teammate, scoring 20 points of his own. The duo of Veesaar and Wilson have reached double figures in each of UNC’s 11 games this season, with Wilson reaching the 20-point plateau in his last three contests.

North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson (8) shoots against East Tennessee State forward Blake Barkley, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)

“I don’t know how many teams we’ll play this year that can match that with them,” said Evans, who finished with six points, six assists, two steals and no turnovers. “To be able to just throw it up to them sometimes and just let them go do what they do, it’s special.”

Outside of Veesaar and Wilson’s combined 46 points, no other Tar Heel scored more than seven points.

Tuesday’s win improves UNC to 10-1, which matches the program’s best start since the 2017-18 season. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they face Ohio State in Atlanta as part of the CBS Sports Classic Saturday at 3 p.m.

“It’s a game I definitely have circled on my calendar,” Wilson said of returning to his hometown this weekend. “Nice way to come home and be able to show people that know me from high school what I can do now.”

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward

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