Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, November 12, 2018

North Carolina used a dominant first half to defeat Stanford 90-72 in its men’s basketball home opener at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., handing the Cardinal their first loss of the season.

No. 7-UNC (3-0) led 52-26 at the half behind an early run kick-started by Kenny Williams. The senior guard, after starting the season missing his first 10 shots, made a layup and followed that with a 3-pointer 90 seconds into the game.

Stanford (2-1) got off to such a bad start that Coach Jerod Haase used his first time out nearly 2 ½ minutes into the game. The Cardinal opened the game shooting 1 of 12.

KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 16 points, hitting 6 of 13 from the field — 1 for 2 on 3-pointers. Okpala also grabbed nine rebounds. Cormac Ryan was next with 14 points and six assists, and Oscar Da Silva had 11 points.

Cameron Johnson led UNC with 17 points. Johnson connected on 7 of 11 from the field — 3 of 4 3-pointers. Luke Maye was next with 16 points, with Garrison Brooks and Kenny Williams each adding 12 points apiece.

Tar Heels held a 45-35 rebounding edge, with Ray and Brooks each pulling down eight boards, and Johnson adding seven. Williams, Coby White and Seventh Woods each had four assists.

The Cardinal return home to host Wofford this Friday night at 7:00 pm PT on PACN.