Caleb Love scored 16 points as No. 14 North Carolina overcame Stanford for a 67-63 victory in a Maui Invitational semifinal Tuesday in Asheville, N.C.
North Carolina's starters each reached double figures in scoring, the Tar Heels erased a five-point deficit down the stretch and remained perfect in 13 all-time meetings with the Cardinal.
North Carolina (3-0) meets No. 17 Texas, a 66-44 winner against Indiana in the first semifinal, in Wednesday's matinee championship game.
Stanford (1-1) takes on Indiana in Wednesday's third-place game.
The North Carolina-Stanford game pitted a coaches Roy Williams of the Tar Heels against Jerod Haase, a former North Carolina assistant coach who was a college player at Kansas under Williams.
R.J. Davis had 11 points for North Carolina, while Armando Bacot, Garrison Brooks and Leaky Black all scored 10 points. Brooks grabbed nine rebounds.
Spencer Jones of Stanford missed a potential tying 3-point shot with about 10 seconds left. Black made one of two free-throw attempts at the other end to help clinch the outcome.
The Tar Heels were 15-for-24 on free throws.
Daejon Davis racked up 18 points, Oscar Da Silva had 13 points, Bryce Wills tallied 12 points and Ziaire Williams notched 10 points for Stanford.
Stanford's Williams went to the bench with four fouls at the 10:57 mark.
Love made a jumper with 3:35 to play gave the Tar Heels the lead for good. Stanford scored only three points in the final four minutes after Williams connected for a basket that gave the Cardinal a 60-58 edge.
Stanford had a scoring drought of almost five minutes in the first half, with North Carolina building a 14-8 lead with a 9-0 stretch. Nearly six minutes elapsed between field goals for the Cardinal, and soon the score was tied.
North Carolina scored the last four points of the first half and the first four points of the second half to forge a 33-33 tie.
--Field Level Media
North Carolina | Stanford | |
Caleb Love 16 | Scoring | Daejon Davis 18 |
Day'Ron Sharpe 4 | Assists | Daejon Davis 4 |
Garrison Brooks 9 | Rebounds | Spencer Jones 5 |
Leaky Black 4 | Free Throws Made | Daejon Davis 5 |
Andrew Platek 2 | Steals | Daejon Davis 4 |
Day'Ron Sharpe 4 | Blocks | Spencer Jones 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
North Carolina | 67 | 46.2 | 4-12 | 15-24 | 11 | 38 | 5 | 6 | 24 |
Stanford | 63 | 39.2 | 5-20 | 18-24 | 9 | 20 | 7 | 14 | 13 |