February 28, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center Henry Visar (13) and Virginia Tech Hokies forward Amani Hansberry (13) battle for the ball in the first half at the Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Henri Veesaar scored a career-high 26 points in the second half of No. 18 North Carolina’s 89-82 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday night in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Seth Trimble had 20 points as the Tar Heels (23-6, 11-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) won for the fourth time in their last five games without star freshman leading scorer and rebounder Caleb Wilson, who is out with a left hand injury.
Reserves Jonathan Powell and Zayden High added 15 and 12 points, respectively, and the North Carolina bench outscored Virginia Tech 32-13.
The Tar Heels remained perfect at home, shooting 55.8 percent (29 of 52) from the floor, marking their first season in which they won their first 17 home games since the Dean E. Smith Center opened 40 years ago.
Veesaar also grabbed seven rebounds to help North Carolina achieve a 34-22 edge on the boards and an 11-2 margin in second-chance points.
Neo Avdalas provided 19 points and five assists for Virginia Tech (18-11, 7-9), which fell short of its third Quad 1 victory en route to a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Tobi Lawal and Ben Hammond each scored 16 points and Amani Hansberry provided 11 points in 19 minutes before fouling out for the Hokies, who haven’t won at North Carolina since 2007.
After Virginia Tech’s Jaden Schutt’s 3-pointer tied the game at 57-57 with 13:51 left, North Carolina took a seven-point lead.
Veesaar hit an alley-oop feed from Powell with a two-handed slam and Powell hit a 3-pointer. Trimble capped the burst with a free dribble spin for a driving layup to make it 64-57.
Veesaar’s 3-pointer with 6:22 left gave North Carolina a 76-65 lead, matching its largest of the game.
In the first half, both teams traded 9 points and finished the game at a fast pace with the score tied 44-44.
The Tar Heels’ scoring came midway through the first half and came courtesy of reserves including Kyan Evans. Kyan Evans hit a 3-pointer to give North Carolina a 21-16 lead.
Powell later made a triple to give the Tar Heels their largest lead of the half, 30-22.
But the Hokies responded with a 9-0 spurt sparked by Schutt’s 3-pointer.
–Field level media
