Henri Veesaar’s career highs of 24 points and 13 rebounds led No. 16 North Carolina to an 85-70 victory against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday night in the Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-off.
Caleb Wilson scored 20 points and snared 12 rebounds. Kyan Evans, who made three 3-point shots, added 11 points and Luka Bogavac posted 10 points for the Tar Heels (6-0), who played away from home for the first time this season. North Carolina has won its first six games in a season for the first time since 2016-17.
Darryl Simmons II scored 22 points and Frank Mitchell put up 18 points and six rebounds to lead St. Bonaventure (5-1).
Veesaar and Wilson were too much in the lane for the smaller Bonnies to handle. Wilson had nine points at the half, and he finished 10-for-10 on free throws to continue one of the best starts to a career in North Carolina team history.
Veesaar, a transfer from Arizona, and Wilson powered North Carolina’s 40-31 rebounding edge. Wilson has double-digit rebounds in four consecutive games.
The Tar Heels shot 50.9% from the floor compared to St. Bonaventure’s 41.4%. North Carolina took better care of the ball with two second-half turnovers following rough stretches in the first half.
North Carolina used a 7-0 spurt, with Wilson providing the first five points, early in the second half to build a 47-38 lead. Evans hit a triple that prompted another 9-0 run, and the Tar Heels were in complete control at 58-43 with 12:40 left.
North Carolina broke out to an 11-point lead only to have the Bonnies pull even at 28-28. They briefly led at 30-28 on Andrew Osasuyi’s dunk before the Tar Heels took a 35-33 edge into halftime.
The Tar Heels made three of their first four 3-point shots and then went cold. But the bigger issues were 11 first-half turnovers, including giveaways on four consecutive possessions. Mitchell and Simmons each had 10 points at the break for St. Bonaventure.
The event involves predetermined matchups. Thursday’s games include North Carolina vs. Michigan State and St. Bonaventure vs. East Carolina.
