CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Gardner-Webb used a strong defensive effort to frustrate top-ranked North Carolina, but the Tar Heels took a 72-66 win on Tuesday night.
North Carolina (3-0) used a 13-3 run to open the second half, creating a cushion that Gardner-Webb (1-2) would not be able to overcome in its third road game in eight days.
Anthony Selden drove and dunked his way to a game-high 21 points,
Julien Soumaoro added 17 and
Kareem Reid scored 10 before fouling out midway through the second half for Gardner-Webb.
The Runnin' Bulldogs didn't go away after the initial surge, slicing the lead to single digits when Soumaoro drained a three from the left wing for a 58-50 score with 6:07 to play. Soumaoro hustled for a loose ball rebound two possessions later and raced in for a contested layup to make the score 60-54 with 5:11 left.
Gardner-Webb cut the lead to five points with 2:45 remaining and had a chance to cut the lead to three points, but a driving layup rimmed out and RJ Davis made two free throws on the other end with 1:22 left for a 63-56 advantage for the home team.
Davis knocked down a 17-footer from the right corner after nearly turning the ball over with 51.2 seconds left for a 65-56 lead and Gardner-Webb would not be able to get any closer. Caleb Love made two free throws with 37.2 seconds left after a missed three on the other end to push the lead back to double digits.
Selden was fouled and made two free throws with 27.7 seconds left to make the score 67-58 and Soumaoro drove for a layup with 19.1 seconds left to get the lead back to nine and drained another three with 7.1 seconds left to cut the lead to 70-63.
Davis made two more free throws on the other end and Selden knocked home a three at the buzzer for the final margin.
Gardner-Webb clamped down defensively in the first half, limiting the Tar Heels to just nine made field goals in the opening 20 minutes and 29.0 percent shooting overall. North Carolina still opened up a 21-12 lead with 6:46 to play before the break on an RJ Davis jumper, but Gardner-Webb responded with a 10-2 run to trim the lead to 23-22 on a
Kareem Reid dunk with 3:13 to go before halftime.
North Carolina got a three-point play from Caleb Love with 1:36 to play for a 26-22 lead at the break.
Gardner-Webb shot 26-of-63 for the game (41.3 percent) and 53.3 percent for the second half (16-of-30). GWU recovered from an 0-for-7 effort in the opening half from long range to make 7-of-13 in the second half. The 'Dogs were nearly even on the glass with the taller Tar Heels.
North Carolina got 20 points from Love, 18 from Pete Nance and 14 from Davis to lead the way. Armando Bacot added 10 points and nine boards, but was limited to a 2-of-9 shooting effort inside. UNC shot 23-of-60 from the floor (38.3 percent) and took advantage at the free throw line with an 18-of-21 effort.
Gardner-Webb will get back to action on Friday night, taking the short drive to Spartanburg, S.C., to face Wofford. Tip time is set for 7 pm.
