Stanford Cardinal guard Bryce Wills (2) drives in front of the North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love (2) and guard Puff Johnson (14) during the Maui Invitational at Asheville NC (photo from gostanford.com)
By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
The 14th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels used a driving hoop from Leaky Black with 1:02 to play – along with a late free throw – to seal a 67-63 win over Stanford Tuesday in the relocated Maui Invitational semifinals, played in Asheville, N.C.
Freshman Caleb Love led UNC (3-0) with 16 points.
North Carolina won the game despite committing 24 turnovers, which the Cardinal converted into 22 points. Neither team led by more than three points over the last 6 ½ minutes until Black’s clutch free throw with 5.5 seconds remaining.
The Cardinal (1-1) shot 39 percent from the field, including 5 of 20 from behind the arc – 1 of 11 in the second half. Daejon Davis was the top scorer for Stanford with 18 points, followed by Oscar da Silva with 13 points and Ziaire Williams with 10.
North Carolina shot 50 percent in the second half, and outrebounded the Cardinal 43-23. UNC used that rebounding edge to score 18 second-chance points.
The game featured a reunion for UNC coach Roy Williams and Stanford coach Jerod Haase, who played and coached for Williams at Kansas. Haase beat his mentor years ago while coaching Alabama-Birmingham, but has lost the last such meetings.
On Wednesday, North Carolina moves on to face No. 17 Texas in the championship game, and Stanford meets Indiana for third place.
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