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ASHEVILLE, NC – In a physical semifinal game marked by an overabundance of fouls and turnovers, North Carolina No.14 prevailed over Stanford, 67-63, on Tuesday to advance to the game. Maui Invitational Championship.
UNC (3-0) led by no less than six points and trailed by no less than eight in a game that featured eight header changes and 10 ties. The Tar Heels used a 10-0 run early in the second half to take a 46-41 lead before the Cardinal (1-1) countered with an 8-0 push six minutes later to take back the lead.
First-year goaltender Caleb Love gave UNC the lead for good with a left elbow jumper with 3:36 left. Stanford had a chance to tie the game with 12 seconds left, but Spencer Jones’ three-point attempt missed its mark. Leaky Black made one of his two free throws with five seconds left to finalize the score.
Stanford, which was one of the best defensive teams in the country a season ago, has been disruptive with its length and physique. The Cardinal scored 22 points on 24 turnovers, but the Tar Heels shot 46.2% from the field. UNC kept their opponent at 39.2 percent shooting and had a 43-23 advantage on the boards.
Five Tar Heels scored in double digits: Love (16), RJ Davis (11), Black (10), Armando Bacot (10) and Garrison Brooks (10).
The teams combined for 41 fouls in total, including 24 after half-time.
Crunch Time Minutes
In the tight UNC opener of the season, all eyes were on Roy Williams’ rotation in the dying minutes. The starters played the entire final at 8:36 with the exception of Armando Bacot, who was replaced by Day’Ron Sharpe with 4:56 to go.
Ziaire Williams container
Five-star winger Ziaire Williams lived up to expectations on his college debut on Monday, scoring 19 points and posting eight rebounds against Alabama. Leaky Black and Andrew Platek made sure to limit his production in Tuesday’s semi-finals.
Williams had to work hard in the first half for some quality looks. His first jumper was a 15-foot rushed over a screen and his second was a contested baseline jumper. His first bucket came out with an open look from the top of the wrench after a series of passes left the UNC fighting to help the defense. His second score in the first half was a transition to three from the right wing.
Williams finished with 10 points on 4 of 9 shots and four rebounds in minutes due to a foul issue.
Like cold early, hot late
Roy Williams described Caleb Love as a volume shooter last week and he’s proven to be accurate in the first three games of the season. The five-star freshman point guard led UNC with 17 points in their season opener against College of Charleston, but it took 11 shots and eight free throws to reach that total.
He was cold for his first three halves at Asheville (4 of 20 FG; 0 of 8 FG) before warming up after half time against the Cardinal. Love knocked down a pair of three-runners in the first three minutes before adding a driving layup to help fuel the pivotal 10-0 run.
Love finished with a team-high 16 points on 6 of 18 shots (2 of 6 3FG). He’s shooting 31.6% (12 of 38) this season, including 20% from three points.
next
UNC will play the Texas No.17 for the Maui Invitational Championship Wednesday (4 p.m. / ESPN). The Longhorns held off Davidson, 78-76, in the opening round before toppling Indiana, 66-44, on Tuesday.
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