University of North Carolina Athletics
Tuesday, December 16
Chapel Hill
8 p.m.
North Carolina
10-1,0-0ACC
77
vs
58
ETSU
8-4,0-0SoCon
1
2
F
ETSU
30
28
58
North Carolina
38
39
77
Henri Veesaar
Photo by: Peyton Williams
Veesaar's Career-High 26 Leads 77-58 Win Over ETSU
December 16, 2025 | Men's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Henri Veesaar scored a career-high 26 points and 12th-ranked North Carolina used a 15-0, second-half run to pull away from ETSU, 77-58, on Tuesday night in the Smith Center.
Veesaar scored 13 points in each half and posted his third 20-point game of the season, hitting 10 of 11 shots while adding eight rebounds. He also hit 2 of 3 three-pointers and all four of his free throw tries. His field goal percentage of 90.9 ties the fourth-best shooting performance by a Tar Heel in Smith Center history and the fifth-best overall in the building.
Caleb Wilson continued his strong freshman campaign, scoring 20 points and adding eight boards. He has made at least five free throws in all 11 games to start his career, tied as the fourth-longest streak in school history. The program record is 12, set by Lennie Rosenbluth (1956-57), Pete Brennan (1957-58) and Bobby Lewis (1965-66).
Kyan Evans had six points and a game-high six assists, all in the first half, along with two steals. As a team, Carolina had 18 assists on 27 baskets with just seven turnovers.
"I feel like we just had overall great team ball movement in being able to move the ball side-to-side," Veesaar said. "We were finding easy pocket passes, and with me being strong with the ball around the rim, finishing towards the basket and not leaning away. I think that made a huge impact that let me be efficient."
The Tar Heels improved to 10-1 this season with the win, including 8-0 at home. UNC is 61-9 in five seasons under head coach Hubert Davis in the Smith Center, and it's 10-1 to start a season for the 31st time in program history.
UNC shot 63.9 percent in the first half, draining 6 of 12 three-pointers and leading, 38-30, at the break. Less than two minutes into the second period, the Tar Heel lead had jumped to 15 points. Carolina used its 15-0 run to up its lead to 66-39 with 7:24 remaining and effectively ice the victory.
"I thought we were really locked in defensively," Davis said to Jones Angell of the Tar Heel Sports Network of the second-half explosion. "East Tennessee State was deliberate in their approach from an offensive standpoint, and then toward the end of the shot clock they were getting into either one-on-one action or some ball screen action. With about three minutes to go in the first half and then the rest of the second half, defensively we were on point. We really locked in defensively, we boxed out, we rebounded, we kept them out of the paint."
Carolina's defense limited ETSU to 38.5 percent shooting while the offense hummed and shot 54.0 percent. UNC is 52-4 under Davis when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the floor and 41-1 when shooting at least 50 percent.
UNC has held all 11 of its opponents under 75 points this season.
"The only way for us to be successful is we've got to be a really good defensive team," said Davis. "We've got to rebound the basketball, and on the offensive end, we have to make the easy play. When we check those three boxes, it leads to everything else on both ends of the floor to allow us to be successful."
How It Happened
First Half
• The Buccaneers slowed the pace, kept things close early and the score was tied at 19-all with 7:41 left in the opening half. Eight of ETSU's first 19 points came on shots at the shot clock buzzer (two three-pointers and a two-pointer).
• The Tar Heels hit their last six shots of the half and led, 38-30, at intermission.
• UNC shot 63.6 percent from the floor, including 6 of 12 three-pointers.
• ETSU grabbed five offensive rebounds (to UNC's one) and had nine first-half second-chance points (to Carolina's two).
• Veesaar led all scorers with 13 points and had five rebounds to tie for the team lead in the first half. Wilson had nine points and five boards. Evans had six points, six assists and no turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Second Half
• The Tar Heels used a 7-0 spurt in the first 1:31 coming out of the locker room to increase their lead to 45-30 and force a quick Buc timeout.
• Carolina went on its 15-0 run to pull away midway through the second half, eventually leading by as many as 27 points late in the game.
• UNC out-rebounded ETSU, 22-11, and dominated points in the paint, 22-8, in the second half.
Notes
• The win was the Tar Heels' 497th in their 41st season playing in the Smith Center, improving to 497-90. UNC is 240-19 in the arena against non-conference opponents.
• Carolina is 7-0 all-time against ETSU, including 6-0 in Chapel Hill. It was the first meeting between the two schools since December 28, 2012.
Up Next
Carolina will return to action against Ohio State on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Atlanta in the CBS Sports Classic on CBS.
Veesaar scored 13 points in each half and posted his third 20-point game of the season, hitting 10 of 11 shots while adding eight rebounds. He also hit 2 of 3 three-pointers and all four of his free throw tries. His field goal percentage of 90.9 ties the fourth-best shooting performance by a Tar Heel in Smith Center history and the fifth-best overall in the building.
Caleb Wilson continued his strong freshman campaign, scoring 20 points and adding eight boards. He has made at least five free throws in all 11 games to start his career, tied as the fourth-longest streak in school history. The program record is 12, set by Lennie Rosenbluth (1956-57), Pete Brennan (1957-58) and Bobby Lewis (1965-66).
Kyan Evans had six points and a game-high six assists, all in the first half, along with two steals. As a team, Carolina had 18 assists on 27 baskets with just seven turnovers.
"I feel like we just had overall great team ball movement in being able to move the ball side-to-side," Veesaar said. "We were finding easy pocket passes, and with me being strong with the ball around the rim, finishing towards the basket and not leaning away. I think that made a huge impact that let me be efficient."
The Tar Heels improved to 10-1 this season with the win, including 8-0 at home. UNC is 61-9 in five seasons under head coach Hubert Davis in the Smith Center, and it's 10-1 to start a season for the 31st time in program history.
UNC shot 63.9 percent in the first half, draining 6 of 12 three-pointers and leading, 38-30, at the break. Less than two minutes into the second period, the Tar Heel lead had jumped to 15 points. Carolina used its 15-0 run to up its lead to 66-39 with 7:24 remaining and effectively ice the victory.
"I thought we were really locked in defensively," Davis said to Jones Angell of the Tar Heel Sports Network of the second-half explosion. "East Tennessee State was deliberate in their approach from an offensive standpoint, and then toward the end of the shot clock they were getting into either one-on-one action or some ball screen action. With about three minutes to go in the first half and then the rest of the second half, defensively we were on point. We really locked in defensively, we boxed out, we rebounded, we kept them out of the paint."
Carolina's defense limited ETSU to 38.5 percent shooting while the offense hummed and shot 54.0 percent. UNC is 52-4 under Davis when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the floor and 41-1 when shooting at least 50 percent.
UNC has held all 11 of its opponents under 75 points this season.
"The only way for us to be successful is we've got to be a really good defensive team," said Davis. "We've got to rebound the basketball, and on the offensive end, we have to make the easy play. When we check those three boxes, it leads to everything else on both ends of the floor to allow us to be successful."
How It Happened
First Half
• The Buccaneers slowed the pace, kept things close early and the score was tied at 19-all with 7:41 left in the opening half. Eight of ETSU's first 19 points came on shots at the shot clock buzzer (two three-pointers and a two-pointer).
• The Tar Heels hit their last six shots of the half and led, 38-30, at intermission.
• UNC shot 63.6 percent from the floor, including 6 of 12 three-pointers.
• ETSU grabbed five offensive rebounds (to UNC's one) and had nine first-half second-chance points (to Carolina's two).
• Veesaar led all scorers with 13 points and had five rebounds to tie for the team lead in the first half. Wilson had nine points and five boards. Evans had six points, six assists and no turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Second Half
• The Tar Heels used a 7-0 spurt in the first 1:31 coming out of the locker room to increase their lead to 45-30 and force a quick Buc timeout.
• Carolina went on its 15-0 run to pull away midway through the second half, eventually leading by as many as 27 points late in the game.
• UNC out-rebounded ETSU, 22-11, and dominated points in the paint, 22-8, in the second half.
Notes
• The win was the Tar Heels' 497th in their 41st season playing in the Smith Center, improving to 497-90. UNC is 240-19 in the arena against non-conference opponents.
• Carolina is 7-0 all-time against ETSU, including 6-0 in Chapel Hill. It was the first meeting between the two schools since December 28, 2012.
Up Next
Carolina will return to action against Ohio State on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Atlanta in the CBS Sports Classic on CBS.
Team Stats
ETSU
UNC
FG%
.385
.540
3FG%
.304
.320
FT%
.688
.652
RB
23
35
TO
7
7
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
UNC Men's Basketball: Veesaar's Career High Leads 77-58 Win Over ETSU
Wednesday, December 17
Carolina Insider: Rapid Reactions pres. by Modelo – Men’s Basketball vs. ETSU – December 16, 2025
Tuesday, December 16
MBB: Veesaar's Career High Leads 77-58 Win Over ETSU
Tuesday, December 16
MBB: Hubert Davis Post-ETSU Press Conference
Tuesday, December 16