Cole Anthony’s 28 points helps UNC defeat Gardner-Webb at home
When North Carolina is struggling to score it knows who it can 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 for the sixth consecutive year.
Gardner-Webb, from the Big South Conference, fell to 0-3. The Runnin’ Bulldogs, who earned their first Division I NCAA tournament berth last season, made things difficult for UNC’s offense, forcing 16 turnovers.
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 to nine 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 percent from the floor (21-for-57).
Anthony slammed in an alley-oop from guard Christian Keeling with 2:43 remaining to extend UNC’s lead to 13.
UNC freshman Armando Bacot finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Tar Heels’ next game is Wednesday against Elon.
And one
Armando Bacot recorded the first double-double of his career. Bacot suffered what appeared to be a concussion in last week’s game against UNC-Wilmington. He missed the entire second half with the injury but came back against Gardner-Webb and played for 23 minutes.
Personal foul
Four UNC players finished with three or more turnovers. Anthony had four while Bacot, Garrison Brooks and Keeling had three each. The Tar Heels finished with 16 turnovers.
ICYMI
Senior guard Brandon Robinson dressed out for Friday’s game. A team spokesperson said he was testing his ankle in warm-ups. However, he did not play. Robinson sprained his ankle in UNC’s exhibition game against Winston-Salem State on Nov. 1 and has not played since.
UNC coach Roy Williams has said he hopes to get Robinson back before the Tar Heels play in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament on Nov. 27.
Making sense of the numbers
3 Anthony has scored 20 or more points in all three games this season. The Tar Heels are still struggling to get a consistent scorer outside of Anthony, who is the only player to score double digit points in every game this season.
76 percent from the free throw line for the Tar Heels (19-for-25). The Tar Heels were much better than in their first two games.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 11:15 PM with the headline "Cole Anthony’s 28 points helps UNC defeat Gardner-Webb at home."
