Caleb Wilson scored 22 points as No. 22 North Carolina snapped a two-game slide by soundly beating Notre Dame 91-69 on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Wilson shot an efficient 8-of-11 from the floor and also contributed seven rebounds and five assists in the wire-to-wire victory for the Tar Heels (15-4, 3-3 ACC). Henri Veesaar added a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Derek Dixon chipped in 11 points.
Sir Mohammed paced the Fighting Irish (10-9, 1-5) with 14 points in their fifth consecutive loss. Jalen Haralson tossed in 13 points and Ryder Frost scored 10.
Notre Dame trimmed the deficit to three with 5:36 to play in the first half after a 3-pointer from Frost, but North Carolina broke off a 10-2 run to build a double-digit cushion. That scoring surge was capped off by a three-point play from Wilson where he connected on a layup through contact and then flushed the free throw.
The hosts led 44-32 at the break. UNC opened the second half with an 11-2 run to take an 18-point lead, with Veesaar scoring eight points in about a three-minute span. UNC took a 21-point lead moments later when Wilson threw down a ferocious one-handed dunk on a fastbreak.
Notre Dame fell behind by as many as 29 in the second half. The Irish didn’t connect on a 3-pointer in the second half until there was 4:50 left to play.
The win saw the Tar Heels attempt a season-high 34 3-pointers. UNC made 13 for a 38.2% clip.
It was the 13th time this season that Wilson had at least 20 points and six rebounds for the Tar Heels, the most by a UNC freshman since Tyler Hansbrough in the 2005-06 campaign.
