By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) – Nikita Bell had 15 points and No. 13 North Carolina ended South Carolina’s best start in 14 seasons with a 78-69 victory Friday night.

Bell’s basket with 16:13 remaining put the Tar Heels (8-1) ahead of the 18th-ranked Gamecocks 54-31. Then after South Carolina (8-1) went on 25-11 run over the next 12 minutes to get back in it, Bell made a pair of foul shots to restore control.

Tonisha Reese hit a long 3-pointer with 55.2 seconds left to cut the lead to 75-69, but the Tar Heels did enough to take the victory.

Jocelyn Penn had 29 points for South Carolina.

Bell had a lot of help holding off the Gamecocks at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center as four teammates, including freshman star La’Tangela Atkinson scored in double figures.

Candace Sutton scored 15 points, Leah Metcalf and Atkinson 12 each and Coretta Brown 10. Atkinson, a former South Carolina high school “Miss Basketball,” also added 11 rebounds.

The Tar Heels put the game out of reach when they closed the first half with a 13-6 run to lead 39-25.

Six North Carolina players scored during the rally, which was closed on back-to-back buckets by Atkinson and Bell.

South Carolina, meanwhile, had an awful shooting half. The Gamecocks went just 25.7 percent (9-of-35) from the field and missed 10 of 11 3-pointers.

The Tar Heels kept it going after the break, starting on a 15-6 burst before South Carolina rallied.

It was too much of a deficit to make up though. By the end, four Gamecock starters, including Penn, had fouled out.