Carolina cruises past Gardner-Webb

Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) – Brandan Wright scored 21 points and grabbed
nine rebounds, as the second-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels routed the
Gardner-Webb Bulldogs, 103-50, at the Smith Center.

Wayne Ellington scored 19 points and Tyler Hansbrough added 18 for North
Carolina (3-0), which opened its season in Charlotte with two wins as part of
the NIT Season Tip-Off.

The Tar Heels have advanced to the semifinal round of the event, which now
shifts to New York, and they will battle Gonzaga on Wednesday. This game
served as both a warmup and the home opener for the Heels, who are 90-7 all-
time in home openers.

Chris Gash scored 14 points for Gardner-Webb (0-3), which began its season by
participating in the CBE Classic in Lubbock, and the result was a pair of
double-digit losses. Takayo Siddle added 10 points in defeat.

The Tar Heels opened the game on an 11-2 run, capped by an Ellington three-
pointer with 17:50 to go, and dominated thereafter.

An Ellington three-point play finished an 11-0 Carolina run midway through the
opening half and a Wright basket ignited another string of 11 straight points
for the Heels soon after.

North Carolina outscored Gardner-Webb 57-19 in the first half to attain
supreme control of the game. The Tar Heels made 21-of-36 shots in the opening
20 minutes and held the Bulldogs to just 7-of-26 shooting.

UNC again used an 11-0 run down the second-half stretch and cruised to the
easy victory.

The Heels shot 35-for-66 (53 percent) from the field, while the Bulldogs
finished 19-for-67 (28.4 percent). UNC outrebounded GW 58-20.

Game Notes

Ellington made 8-of-10 shots and Wright was 8-for-12 from the field…Last
season, North Carolina posted a closer-than-expected 83-80 decision over
Gardner-Webb in the first-ever meeting between the teams.

GARDNER NCAROLINA