CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Cole Anthony didn't need much time to make his mark on the North Carolina record book.
Anthony set the school record for scoring by a freshman in his debut, finishing with 34 points and 11 rebounds while leading the ninth-ranked Tar Heels past Notre Dame 76-65 in their opener Wednesday night.
With his father -- former UNLV and NBA guard Greg Anthony -- in the stands, the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason freshman of the year broke Rashad McCants' 17-year-old scoring record by a freshman in his first game and finished 12 of 24 from the field with 6 three-pointers.
"It's cool, I'm going to -- not celebrate, but be happy about it a little bit tonight, give myself a little pat on the back," Anthony said. "But we've got practice tomorrow. We've got to lock back in. We've got a game on Friday."
Anthony scored 15 points during a 29-13 second-half run that put the Tar Heels in control.
Prentiss Hubb scored a career-high 22 points, T.J. Gibbs added 19 and John Mooney finished with 10 for the Fighting Irish. They led 37-32 just under 2 minutes into the second half.
That's when Anthony took over. He started the run with a runner, reeled off seven consecutive points for his team and hit 3 three-pointers in a 4-minute span, the last of which gave the Tar Heels their first double-digit lead at 61-50 with 9 minutes remaining.
"Sometimes, I used to say, Tyler Hansbrough carried us," North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said of about the former national player of the year. "Cole Anthony carried us tonight. ... That was pretty impressive, to say the least."
The Fighting Irish had never opened a season with a conference game -- in any of their conferences -- and this was a tough ask, though they did more than simply play the foil in Anthony's debut. They outscored UNC 12-2 during the few minutes when Anthony was resting on the bench, built that second-half lead on Hubb's shooting but couldn't contain the Tar Heels' freshman down the stretch.
"I thought his dagger threes were a big part of it," Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey said. "I love how we played. We came ready to battle, but he just got on one of those rolls that we've all seen on the AAU circuit. You guys just didn't see it yet. But you saw it tonight. So I thought that was really the difference."
NO. 11 VIRGINIA 48, SYRACUSE 35
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Mamadi Diakite scored 12 points, Jay Huff added 11 points and 12 rebounds and Virginia shut down Syracuse.
The Cavaliers became the first NCAA champion to start the next season with a true road game since UCLA in 1967-68. The Cavaliers have a 12-game winning streak in ACC openers and are 11-0 in ACC openers under Coach Tony Bennett.
Elijah Hughes had 14 points for Syracuse.
NO. 18 OHIO STATE 64, CINCINNATI 56
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Kyle Young had a career-high 14 points and 13 rebounds for Ohio State.
Young, a junior forward, made 6 of 7 shots from the floor and the Buckeyes rallied in the second half to spoil John Brannen's Cincinnati coaching debut.
D.J. Carton added nine points and five rebounds for Ohio State, and Kaleb Wesson had eight points and 11 rebounds. Jarron Cumberland and Keith Williams each had 13 points for Cincinnati.
NO. 21 ARIZONA 91, NORTHERN ARIZONA 52
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Zeke Nnaji scored 20 points in his college debut for Arizona.
Stone Gettings added 13 points and Nnaji hit 9 of 12 shots. The Wildcats led by 22 at halftime, shot 54% and had a 42-14 advantage in the paint.
Cameron Shelton led Northern Arizona with 17 points.
NO. 23 PURDUE 79,
WIS.-GREEN BAY 57
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Graduate transfer Jahaad Proctor scored 26 points and Eric Hunter Jr. added 15 to help Purdue beat Wis.-Green Bay.
The Boilermakers have won seven consecutive season openers, 18 in a row at Mackey Arena and 20 consecutive home games against nonconference foes. Proctor spent the last two seasons at High Point.
Kameron Hankerson led the Phoenix with 15 points.
Sports on 11/07/2019