Veesaar & Wilson Star As Tar Heels Hold Off Wake Forest, 87-84

Saturday, January 10

Chapel Hill

6 p.m.

North Carolina

14-2,2-1ACC

Wake Forest

10-7,1-3ACC

Wake Forest

North Carolina

Henri Veesaar

Photo by: DALTON WAINSCOTT

Veesaar & Wilson Star As Tar Heels Hold Off Wake Forest, 87-84

January 10, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar combined for 47 points and 21 rebounds as No. 17 North Carolina withstood a furious Wake Forest rally to win, 87-84, on Saturday evening in the Smith Center.

Wilson and Veesaar combined to shoot 17 for 19 from the floor, and it was the third time both players scored at least 20 in the same game.

Wilson nearly had a double-double in the first half alone with 17 points and nine rebounds. He finished with 22 and 12 for his 11th double-double, and his 11 20-point games are the most by a Tar Heel freshman since Tyler Hansbrough set the program record with 14 in 2005-06.

Veesaar posted his fifth career 20-point effort and his fourth this season, scoring 25 points, just one off his career high of 26. He added nine rebounds and four assists.

In addition to Wilson and Veesaar's exploits, Jaydon Young scored a season-high 12 points, hitting 3 of 5 three-pointers and adding two assists in 20 good minutes off the bench.

"I think we stuck together as a team, we definitely fought back and got the win," Young said afterward. "I feel like I've been in this position before. I'm not a freshman anymore, so I kind of know how to handle things."

Tar Heel head coach Hubert Davis praised Young's preparation. "When, not if, when your number is called — your job and responsibility is to be able to step up," Davis said. "And his number was called the most, and he stepped up."

Carolina matched its biggest lead at 15 points with 9:50 to play before going more than six minutes without a basket as the Demon Deacons cut the lead to just a point with 4:03 to play. The teams traded baskets until the final minute with UNC's advantage never exceeding five points.

After Seth Trimble missed the second of two free throw tries with 26.2 seconds left to make the score 82-79 Tar Heels, Wilson tapped the rebound off a Wake player and out of bounds to preserve possession. Instant replay upheld the call after Demon Deacon head coach Steve Forbes challenged it.

On the next possession, Wake fouled quickly and Trimble hit both free throws to make the score 84-79 with 25.4 ticks left on the clock. The Deacons quickly scored to make it 84-81, then fouled Trimble again with 13.4 seconds to play. The senior hit 1 of 2 free throws to move the score to 85-81.

Wake hit a three to cut UNC's lead to 85-84 with seven seconds to go, then Jarin Stevenson hit both free throws with 5.0 seconds left to preserve the 87-84 win.

"They've got a really, really good team," said Forbes. "I think they've got one of the best four-five combinations in the country in Wilson and Veesaar. I think they only missed one shot between them — like two shots between them the whole night. I think they had nine offensive rebounds. Really good players."

The victory was Carolina's 500th in the Smith Center in 41 years of competing in the arena, which hosted its first official game on January 18, 1986. UNC is 500-90 in the building, including 259-71 against ACC opponents.

The Tar Heels (14-2, 2-1 ACC) bounced back after last Saturday's loss at SMU and have won eight of their last nine. Carolina is 14-2 for the first time since 2015-16. The Demon Deacons (10-7, 1-3) never led and lost for the fourth time in their last five games.

Juke Harris and Nate Calmese led Wake with 28 points apiece. Calmese hit 7 of 11 three-pointers and Harris hit 5 of 12.

After blistering the nets at a 59.4 percent shooting clip in the first half, Carolina cooled to 43.5 percent in the second half while the Deacons got hot at 53.3 percent after intermission. UNC improved to 68-10 under Davis when scoring 80-plus points.

"It's incredible," Trimble said when asked about being part of the 500th win at the Smith Center. "It's a blessing. And we're super, super thankful, grateful just to be a part of this history. There's many greats that came before us, many great coaches, many great accolades that these players and coaches have brought and just for us to be an extension of that means, it means a lot."

How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina started strong, grabbing a 10-point lead at 14-4 by the first timeout behind five points from Veesaar and four from Wilson. Ten of UNC's first 14 points came in the paint on several dunks and layups.
• After the Tar Heels expanded their lead to 16-4, Wake hit three consecutive three-pointers to make it 16-13.
• UNC led by as many as 15 in the first half and could've led by more had Wake not hit eight first-half three-pointers.
• Wilson was the best player on the floor for either team in the first half, slicing through the Demon Deacon defense for several dunks, 17 points and nine rebounds, both game highs. He hit 7 of 7 shots in the period.
• Carolina missed 13 first-half shots but grabbed eight offensive rebounds for a 13-5 edge in second-chance points.
• The Tar Heels dominated points in the paint, 28-14, and outrebounded the Deacons, 21-13.
• Carolina shot 59.4 percent from the floor as a team in the first half (19 of 32). It was 14 for 18 from two-point range and 5 for 14 from three-point territory.

Second Half
• Veesaar hit two three-pointers early in the second half for his seventh game with multiple threes, including five of the last six.
• After UNC matched its biggest lead at 72-57 with 9:50 remaining on a Young three-pointer, Wake used an 11-1 run to cut Carolina's lead to 73-68 with under seven minutes remaining.
• The Demon Deacons hit 11 of their first 19 second-half shots and ultimately shot 53.3 percent in the half overall, including 6 of 13 on three-pointers after halftime.

Notes
• Carolina leads the all-time series with Wake Forest, 167-70. UNC is 82-18 at home against the Demon Deacons, including 27-5 in the Smith Center. The Tar Heels have won 10 in a row in the series at home.
• Saturday's game is one of just two UNC home games in the month of January. The other will come on January 21 against Notre Dame.
• Four of Carolina's next five games will be played on the road at Stanford, Cal, Virginia and Georgia Tech.

Up Next
Carolina will hit the road for their first ACC trip to California next week. The Tar Heels will play at Stanford on Wednesday January 14 and at Cal on Saturday January 17.