CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Interstat) — Caleb Wilson scored 23 points and North Carolina used a dominant opening run to set the tone, overcoming a sloppy performance to defeat a persistent Navy team 73-61 in a nonconference men’s basketball game Tuesday night at the Dean Smith Center.

A crowd of 16,869 saw the Tar Heels improve to 5-0, while the Midshipmen fell to 2-3.

North Carolina sprinted out of the gate, scoring the game’s first 10 points. Henri Veesaar of Estonia opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, and Wilson followed with a pair of emphatic dunks, forcing an early Navy timeout just over two minutes into the contest. The Midshipmen, struggling to find any offensive rhythm against North Carolina’s length, did not get on the board until Mike Woods hit a pair of free throws with 17:19 remaining in the first half.

Despite the early deficit, Navy refused to capitulate. A driving layup by Austin Benigni of The Woodlands, Texas, and a 3-pointer from Woods helped the Midshipmen weather the initial storm. A late first-half flurry, capped by a Benigni 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer, kept Navy within striking distance, trailing 38-31 at the break.

The Tar Heels’ offensive efficiency, measured by an offensive rating of 102.2 points per 100 possessions, ultimately proved too much for a Navy squad that managed just 81.8 points per 100 possessions. North Carolina shot 43% from the field and connected on 8 of 23 attempts from beyond the arc. Navy, by contrast, was hampered by cold shooting, making just 21 of 69 field goal attempts for a 30% clip and hitting only 6 of 21 from 3-point range.

Wilson, a 6-foot-10 sophomore from Atlanta, was the focal point of the North Carolina attack, adding three blocks in 26 minutes of action. He was complemented by Luka Bogavac of Montenegro, who scored 16 points, and Chapel Hill native Jarin Stevenson, who chipped in 11 points. Veesaar also reached double figures with 10 points.

Benigni led the Midshipmen with 19 points and five assists in a game-high 39 minutes. Jinwoo Kim of Overland Park, Kansas, provided a scoring spark off the bench with 14 points. Navy’s effort was characterized by hustle, as they forced 13 North Carolina turnovers while committing only six of their own, and recorded eight steals to the Tar Heels’ four.

North Carolina attempted to pull away multiple times in the second half, but Navy consistently answered. After a Wilson dunk extended the Tar Heels’ lead to 49-39, Navy’s Cooper Jackson, a native of Lewisville, North Carolina, responded with a layup. Jackson provided a brief spark off the bench, scoring all six of his points in just seven minutes of play.

Every time the Tar Heels built a double-digit cushion, the Midshipmen found a way to claw back. A 3-pointer by Kim and a driving layup from Benigni kept the deficit manageable, but Navy could never string together enough stops and scores to truly threaten the lead.

A late 7-0 run by North Carolina, featuring a 3-pointer from Bogavac and a dunk from Veesaar, finally gave the Tar Heels their largest lead at 66-52 with just over six minutes to play, effectively sealing the victory.

Despite the loss, Navy’s resilience was evident. They out-assisted North Carolina 8-4 and battled evenly on the offensive glass, with each team grabbing eight offensive rebounds. The Midshipmen also shot well from the free-throw line, converting 13 of 16 attempts.

The game’s final score of 134 combined points fell well under the pregame over/under line of 161.5. North Carolina had been installed as a 24-point favorite.

North Carolina next heads to Florida Gulf Coast University to face Saint Bonaventure on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Navy returns home to host NJIT on Saturday, Nov. 22.