Stanford Cardinal forward Ziaire Williams (3) puts up a fade away shot while the Alabama Crimson Tide’s forward Jordan Bruner (2) leaps to attempt a block while guard Jahvon Quinerly (13) watches from behind Williams on Mon Nov 30, 2020 at Asheville NC  (rolltide.com photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, November 30, 2020

Freshman Ziaire Williams scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds for Stanford on Monday, leading the Cardinal past Alabama 82-64 in the Maui Invitational men’s basketball tournament being played at Asheville, N.C.

Williams is considered one of Stanford’s highest-rated recruits in the program’s history. The 6-foot-8 forward is a McDonald’s All-American and is rated as high as a top-5 NBA lottery pick if he decides to leave Stanford after one season.

Bryce Wills scored 15 points for the Cardinal, and Oscar da Silva and Daejon Davis added 13 points each.

The Crimson Tide was led by Jahvon Quinerly with 14 points and 10 from Jaden Shakelford.

Williams hit a jumper with 7:42 left in the first half to break a 25-25 tie. The Cardinal then finished the first half with a 16-4 run, taking a 41-29 lead into the break.

Stanford held a 47-31 rebounding edge. Williams and Spencer Jones each had eight boards.

The Cardinal (1-0) will meet No. 14 North Carolina (2-0) in the next round of the tournament, being played in North Carolina instead of Hawaii due to COVID-19 issues.