UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs St. Bonaventure 85-70 Win
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Stiff-Arms St. Bonaventure to Win the Opening Round of the Fort Myers Classic
by Derrick Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team faced off against St. Bonaventure in the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, Fla. In the first ten minutes of the game, the Tar Heels played some of their best basketball, moving and passing the ball to the open man and attacking the basket. They played solid switching defense and led 15-5. Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar controlled the paint with their length and attacked the rim with aggression.
Then, as Hubert Davis subbed in players, the energy and intensity slacked off, and the Bonnies began to get their confidence playing tough physical defense and attacking the North Carolina defense with big man Frank Mitchell and speedy guard Buddy Simmons. UNC turned the ball over 11 times in the first half allowing the Bonnies to score 10 points to make the game close. The Bonnies even took a brief 2-point lead during that stretch. The Heels looked unsure of themselves and were hesitant with their decison-making. The Tar Heels would regain the lead and go into half-time up 35-33.
In the second half, North Carolina came out with more energy and intensity on both ends of the floor. The front court players continued to attack the basket with a vengence getting the Bonnies in foul trouble and the guards hit a few 3-pointers to open the game up and give the Heels some breathing room. The Tar Heels would go on to outscore the Bonnies by 50-37 in the second half. Four Tar Heels scored in double figures and two players had double doubles led by Henri Veesaar with a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds and Caleb Wilson contributing 20 points and 12 rebounds. North Carolina would cruise to victory 85-70.
UNC Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| St. Bonaventure 5-1 | 33 | 37 | 70 |
| 16 North Carolina 6-0 | 35 | 50 | 85 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| H. Veesaar | 24 | 13 | 3 | 9/14 | 1/3 | 5/6 | 2 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| C. Wilson | 20 | 12 | 1 | 5/13 | 0/0 | 10/10 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| K. Evans | 11 | 2 | 3 | 4/5 | 3/4 | 0/0 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| L. Bogavac | 10 | 0 | 4 | 3/9 | 2/5 | 2/2 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Stevenson | 9 | 5 | 2 | 4/8 | 0/3 | 1/5 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| D. Dixon | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1/2 | 1/1 | 2/2 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| I. Denis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Z. High | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Powell | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Young | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Brown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I. Matlekovic | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Davis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Holbrook | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Smith | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 85 | 36 | 16 | 28/55 | 8/18 | 21/27 | 13 | – | 5 | 1 | 13 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| D. Simmons II | 22 | 1 | 3 | 9/16 | 4/6 | 0/0 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| F. Mitchell | 18 | 6 | 2 | 9/18 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 3 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| C. Charles | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2/7 | 0/1 | 2/2 | 3 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| D. Bowen | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2/8 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Grahovac | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| D. Egbuniwe | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3/8 | 2/5 | 0/0 | 1 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| A. Marshall | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2/5 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Osasuyi | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 2/4 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| I. Ermakov | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| A. Lonati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Ostrom | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. DeRose | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| X. Wedlow | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| B. Jackson | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Ikpotokin | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 70 | 28 | 13 | 29/70 | 7/17 | 5/8 | 16 | – | 8 | 5 | 9 |
UNC Bright Spots
Henri Veesaar 24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Caleb Wilson had 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Kyan Evans had 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Luka Bogavac had 10 points, 4 assists, and 1 steal.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels must play with more consistent energy, effort, and intensity on both ends of the floor, no matter who they play. They cannot go through the motions just because they’re playing against a less talented team. They seem to relax when they get an early lead. It isn’t a good habit for a championship-caliber team.
They need to make sure they are not getting stagnant offensively in the half-court. There needs to be constant ball movement and player movement to create advantages for someone to take a quality shot. They also must do a better job of protecting the basketball, not being sloppy with the ball, trying to make the spectacular or difficult pass, or having careless turnovers. The Tar Heels need to keep their poise and play under control through the opponent’s physicality.
The Tar Heels need their bench to continue to step up and make significant contributions without turning the ball over. They need to keep the intensity and energy up when the starters come off the court.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels improve to 6-0 on the season. They played against a gritty St. Bonaventure team who brought physicality to the game. This was another good test for UNC as Coach Davis figures out who will be a part of the rotation as the season moves forward. The Tar Heels need to get 15-18 points of contribution from the reserves to help give the starters a breather and not give up leads. Kyan Evans needs to be more aggressive looking for his shot. The team plays well in spurts. They need to continue to build more chemistry as their roles are being defined until Seth Trimble gets back into the mix in a few weeks.
Coach Davis needs to make quicker adjustments when his team loses their momentum by calling time outs or subbing out the players that are struggling. He allow the bonnies to take the lead before he got his team to settle down. He must do a better job moving forward. The Tar Heels face the toughest test of the season so far against Michigan St. at 4:30 p.m. Thanksgiving Day on FOX.
Great analysis of the game. Good win for the Tarheels.