By MITCHELL NORTHAM Associated Press
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Caleb Wilson had 23 points and 12 rebounds, leading No. 18 North Carolina to a 73-61 win over Navy on Tuesday night.
A true freshman, Wilson also had four steals and three blocks for the Tar Heels (5-0). Luka Bogavac added 16 points, Jarin Stevenson scored 11 and Henri Veesaar had 10.
Austin Benigni scored 19 points for Navy (2-3) and Jinwoo Kim added 14 in the Midshipmen’s first trip to Chapel Hill since 1936.
UNC led wire-to-wire, but Navy trimmed the deficit to three points midway through the first half on a layup from Donovan Draper. The Tar Heels responded with a 14-5 run — capped off by free throws from Bogavac — to retake a comfortable double-digit advantage.
Navy cut the Tar Heels’ lead to four points early in the second half, but UNC answered with a 24-7 run, highlighted by three spectacular transition dunks from Wilson.
Despite returning 86.6 percent of its scoring from last season — the most of any roster in the nation this year — Navy had trouble finding the basket consistently against UNC, shooting just 30.4 percent from the floor. The Tar Heels have held four opponents to under 40-percent shooting this season and are now 49-4 under fifth-year coach Hubert Davis when doing so.
North Carolina became the third program in Division I men’s basketball to reach 2,400 victories, joining Kentucky and Kansas.
This victory marked the final of five consecutive home games to start the season for the Tar Heels, the longest season-opening home stretch they’ve had since 1918. UNC won’t return to the Dean Smith Center until Dec. 7.
Up next
North Carolina: Plays St. Bonaventure in the Fort Myers Tip-Off next Tuesday.
Navy: Hosts NJIT on Saturday.