University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Basketball Downs No. 3 Stanford, 57-49
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
November 27, 1998
NEW YORK - Ed Cota grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., playing schoolyard basketball on concrete courts and dreaming about doing it on the hardwood of Madison Square Garden.
When the North Carolina junior finally got there, he made sure it was memorable.
Cota, the shortest man on the court at 6-foot-1, threw in 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading No. 9 North Carolina to the Preseason NIT championship Friday night with a 57-49 victory over No. 3 Stanford in a game both teams wished they could have played last spring.
It was an MVP performance for Cota, who threw in four free throws in the last 72 seconds and provided the backcourt leadership for a young, tall Tar Heels team.
"What a great homecoming," Cota said. "Our defense and our rebounding was the key. I made a concentrated effort to crash the boards.
"We have a lot of talent. It's a matter of time. Moving the ball around takes us a long way."
This was a game both teams wanted to play last March.
The Tar Heels and Cardinal reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament but were eliminated in the semifinals, North Carolina losing to Utah and Stanford knocked off by eventual champion Kentucky.
So the Preseason NIT championship was sort of a peak at what might have been. Stanford has all five starters back from its Final Four team but North Carolina is a new-look squad with veterans Cota and Ademola Okulaja surrounded by freshmen and sophomores.
"Give credit to the young players on this team who are following everybody who has played here before," Cota said.
Coach Bill Guthridge wasn't certain what the new players would give him against a veteran Stanford team.
"I had no idea how good we'd be with a lot of question marks," he said. "And I still don't know with six games. But I'm pleased to be 6-0 and win the championship. You can't do better than that."
It was North Carolina's eighth victory in the series and the fifth time it has beaten Stanford (4-1) in the championship game of a tournament.
"We went out there and weren't hesitant as a young team," said Jason Capel, one of North Carolina's freshmen. "We weren't scared."
North Carolina took charge early, racing to a 12-4 lead. But Stanford came back to lead 19-17 on a 3-point shot by Ryan Mendez.
Then the Tar Heels went on a 15-2 run and took a 32-23 lead at halftime.
Stanford narrowed it to three points with less than two minutes left.
That's when Cota took over, hitting four free throws sandwiched around a big block by freshman Kris Lang. It locked up the tournament MVP award for the junior guard.
Two late 3-pointers by Arthur Lee couldn't dent North Carolina's lead as the Tar Heels converted their free throws down the stretch. The baskets were Lee's first after he had missed nine shots. Tim Young went 3-for-12 as Stanford made just 18 of 63 attempts.
"If you don't win the war on the boards and you shoot 28 percent, you're not going to win," said Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. "But it's early in the season."
Jarron Collins led Stanford with 10 points.
No. 14 Purdue edged No. 23 St. John's 70-69 in the consolation game for third place.
By HAL BOCK
AP Sports Writer
