CHAPEL HILL, N.C. _ When North Carolina is struggling to score, the Tar Heels know who to count on.
Cole Anthony.
The freshman guard, who entered Friday's game against Gardner-Webb averaging 27 points and 10.5 rebounds, finished with 28 points, and helped the Tar Heels win 77-61 at the Dean Smith Center.
No. 6 UNC is now 3-0 to start the season. It is the sixth consecutive time that the Tar Heels have started a season with three straight wins.
Gardner-Webb, from the Big South conference, fell to 0-3. Gardner-Webb, which earned its first Division I NCAA tournament berth last season, gave the Tar Heels all they could handle.
The Runnin' Bulldogs forced the Tar Heels into 16 turnovers, and made things difficult for the UNC's offense.
They cut the Tar Heels' lead to four points with 10:26 left in the second half. But the Tar Heels quickly pushed it back up to nine points after a layup by Andrew Platek and a transition 3-pointer from Anthony.
Gardner-Webb kept the game within reach, but never got closer than seven points. The Tar Heels were just a little better defensively. Gardner-Webb shot below 40% from the floor.
Anthony slammed in an alley-oop from guard Christian Keeling with 2:43 remaining to extend UNC's lead to 13 points.
UNC freshman Armando Bacot finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Tar Heels' next game is Wednesday against Elon.
