Stanford, Unc Advance To Final

Top 25

Stanford did exactly what most veteran teams like to do against a group of relative youngsters.

“We got it a little physical,” coach Mike Montgomery said after his 16th-ranked Cardinal’s 82-70 victory over South Carolina Friday night in the opening round of the Tournament of Champions in Charlotte, N.C.

Stanford (3-1) grabbed 52 rebounds, 24 on the offensive end, and harassed the Gamecocks (2-1) into 37 percent shooting.

South Carolina was seeking its first 3-0 start since 1988, but made just two field goals the final 4 minutes.

“It’s great when you can come out and set the tempo, play the game the way you want it,” Stanford’s Dion Cross said.

Cross and Andy Poppink each had six points in the decisive second-half run. The Cardinal sealed it by making 10 of 13 free throws over the final 3:03.

Poppink finished with 17 points and Cross had 15 as the Cardinal advanced to tonight’s championship game against No. 17 North Carolina.

Stanford’s Brevin Knight had 20 points and the Cardinal also got 13 from Pete Sauer, all the first half.

(17) North Carolina 89, Tulane 71

Also at the Tournament of Champions at Charlotte, N.C., Vince Carter provided an early spark and fellow freshman Antawn Jamison added a late surge as the Tar Heels defeated the Green Wave.

Carter scored eight of his 11 points in the first 7 minutes as North Carolina (4-1) took control on the way to its 13th victory in 14 games against Tulane (2-1). Carter went to the bench with 17 minutes remaining after injuring his left ankle. He did not return.

(11) Iowa 104, East Tenn. St. 58

At Iowa City, Iowa, Chris Kingsbury scored 18 points and five other Hawkeyes were in double figures as Iowa beat the Buccaneers to earn a berth in the title game of the Hawkeye Shootout.

Iowa (4-1) outrebounded the Buccaneers 66-30 and handed them their first loss after two easy wins over Division II opponents.

The Hawkeyes, seeking their 13th championship in the tournament’s 14 years, face Colgate (1-2) tonight.

(14) Utah 91, Lewis-Clark St. 64

At Salt Lake City, missing three of its top players, Utah used a perfect shooting night from Ben Caton to overpower the Warriors (4-3) in the Utes’ home opener.

Caton, a 6-foot-3 junior, was 7 for 7 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and made two free throw tries for 18 points.

Lewis-Clark, an NAIA school from Lewiston, was paced by Mike Ross’ 20 points.Utah played without Brandon Jessie, who is serving a seven-game NCAA suspension for recruiting violations; Ben Melmeth, who will return Monday against Drake after a three-game academic suspension; and leading scorer Keith Van Horn, who had a slight case of food poisoning.