CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Jaylen Blakes scored the game-winning jumper with less than two seconds to play, and Stanford men’s basketball rolled out of the Dean Smith Center with a 72-71 victory over North Carolina. The Cardinal improves to 12-6 this season with a 4-3 mark in the ACC.
The ACC’s leading scorer and rebounder, Maxime Raynaud, led the way with 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, including a trio of 3-pointers and a 6-for-6 mark at the free throw line.
Blakes scored 20 points with a game-high seven assists, including his second game-winning jumper in the closing moments this season, along with the win at Santa Clara. Oziyah Sellers was in double figures with 11 points to go with four assists, while Donavin Young had nine points and three blocks, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from beyond the arc.
The Cardinal snapped North Carolina’s four-game winning streak, and the win marked North Carolina’s first loss while leading at the half since Feb. 8, 2020. Stanford picked up its first win against the Tar Heels in program history in 14 tries.
In a game that included 14 lead changes and 12 ties, Stanford got out to an early lead, 11-7, led by six points from Raynaud. The Tar Heels responded to take a seven-point lead, 24-17, but the Cardinal rallied to re-tie the game at 30-30, with the run including a posterizing alley-oop dunk by Raynaud. The Tar Heels led at the half by one, 36-35.
Stanford and North Carolina traded runs in the second half, with the Cardinal going in front 57-52 with 9:35 to play after an 18-8 stretch that spanned eight minutes. North Carolina led by four with 2:38 to play, but the Cardinal regained the lead on a leaner from Ryan Agarwal, 68-67 with 1:56 to go. After trading free throws, Blakes scored the game winner in the closing seconds to give Stanford the win.
After starting ACC play with five of seven games on the road, Stanford returns home for five of six games, starting with a visit from Miami on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
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