No. 17 North Carolina edges Wake Forest 87-84 for its 500th win at the Dean E. Smith Center

Updated: Jan 10, 2026, 08:52 pm

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- — Henri Veesaar had 25 points and nine rebounds, and No. 17 North Carolina edged Wake Forest 87-84 on Saturday night for its 500th win at the Dean E. Smith Center.

Caleb Wilson added 22 points and 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double, while Jaydon Young contributed a season-high 12 points off the bench for the Tar Heels (14-2, 2-1 ACC), who bounced back from their first ACC loss last Saturday at SMU.

The Tar Heels are now 500-90 at the Smith Center, which opened in 1986.

Nate Calmese hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 28 points and nine assists for Wake Forest (10-7, 1-3), which fell to 1-4 in its last five games. Juke Harris added 28 points on five 3-pointers.

Wake Forest trailed by 15 points, but Calmese's step-back 3-pointer cut it to 75-74 with 4:03 left. The Tar Heels, however, got key dunks down the stretch from Seth Trimble and Veesaar.

Another 3 by Calmese with 7 seconds remaining cut UNC’s lead to 85-84. But Jarin Stevenson answered with two free throws, and Calmese misfired on an off-balance shot at the buzzer to end it.

Wilson had 17 points and nine rebounds in the first half. He made all seven shots, including a few thunderous dunks, as the Tar Heels took a 49-38 lead into the intermission.

Up next

Wake Forest: Visits Florida State next Saturday.

North Carolina: Visits Stanford on Wednesday.

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