Stanford Nips Men's Basketball, 72-71

Saturday, January 18

Chapel Hill

2:15 PM

North Carolina

12-7,5-2ACC

Stanford

12-6,4-3ACC

Stanford

North Carolina

RJ Davis

Photo by: Peyton Williams

January 18, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— Jaylen Blakes hit a pair of free throws with 24 seconds remaining and a jumper with 1.5 seconds to go as Stanford edged North Carolina, 72-71, on Saturday afternoon in the Smith Center.

Blakes' game-winner was the first time a Carolina opponent has hit a game-winning shot with under five seconds remaining since Matt Coleman III of Texas did it on December 2, 2020.

Stanford, which had lost four of its last six outings entering the day, improved to 12-6, 4-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the win. Carolina saw its four-game winning streak come to an end and fell to 12-7, 5-2.

"I felt like today wasn't one thing," Tar Heel head coach Hubert Davis said in his postgame press conference. "I felt like there were a number of little details or mistakes that we made throughout the entire game. On both ends of the floor, whether it was execution defensively, out of bounds, underneath, ball screen coverage, closeouts and the take two guys… I just felt like it was a culmination of little things. I always say little things lead to big things happening. I felt that those little things, little mistakes, led to big things happening today, which resulted in a loss."

Cardinal big man Maxime Raynaud scored 15 first-half points and finished with game highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds. Blakes posted 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds and one assist.

Stanford's defense limited UNC to 40.0 percent shooting in the second half, including just 2 of 8 three-point tries (25.0 percent), as the Tar Heels shot 42.6 percent overall from the floor.

RJ Davis led Carolina with 19 points, hitting 3 of 7 three-pointers and adding five assists before fouling out late in the game. Ven-Allen Lubin scored a season-high 13, hitting 5 of 8 shots and grabbing five boards.

Elliot Cadeau had 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers, scoring in double figures for the 12^th time in 2024-25 and the first time in consecutive games since the first seven games of the season.

"We had a lot of slip-up plays in the second half, and kind of just weren't as aggressive from a defense standpoint," RJ Davis said. "We weren't really into the ball. There wasn't as much communication, and I think that kind of just led on to plays that they were able to execute off of."

It was Carolina's first time losing in the Smith Center when leading at halftime since losing to Duke on February 8, 2020. It was just the 19th time in the Smith Center's nearly 40-year history that UNC has lost in the Smith Center when leading at the break.

"Basketball is no different than life," Hubert Davis said. "There are going to be rainy days and sunny days. So we didn't make enough plays to win the game. Let's look back at it and see if we can learn from it and grow from it. And then move on to the next game against Wake Forest on Tuesday. I don't know what else you can do other than that."

How It Happened
First Half
• The teams stayed close to each other throughout the first half with neither team leading by more than seven points in the first 20 minutes.
• Both teams had extended streaks without field goals and struggled at times to create offensive momentum.
• Early in the half, Seth Trimble hit his first three-pointer in four games since returning from his upper body injury earlier this month.
• Jalen Washington tied his season high with his seventh field goal attempt before the break, scoring seven first-half points
• RJ Davis dished out five assists before halftime as the Tar Heels led at the half for the fifth consecutive game and the 11^th time overall.
• Stanford hit 5 of 12 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
• Ian Jackson was 0 for 6 from the floor, including 0 for 4 from three-point range, hitting only two free throws in the first half.

Second Half
• The Cardinal led, 50-49, at the second media timeout after the break, hitting 7 of its first 15 shots while UNC missed 7 of 11 to start the half.
• Both teams shot poorly in the second half (Stanford 41.9 percent, UNC 40.0).
• Stanford took its biggest lead at 57-52 with 9:35 remaining after holding UNC scoreless for over two minutes and hitting 4 of 5 shots.
• Jackson hit his first field goal of the game, a jumper with 9:05 to play.
• UNC's defense held Stanford without a field goal for over five-and-a-half minutes until Raynaud hit his third three-pointer of the game with 2:23 remaining.
• The closing minutes included several lead changes. Stanford took a one-point lead at 68-67 with under two minutes left until Trimble drove the lane and scored with his left hand to make it 69-68 UNC at the 1:37 mark.
• Blakes hit a pair of free throws with 24.1 seconds on the clock to make it 70-69 Stanford.
• Carolina took over with 21.8 seconds left after a timeout, and Trimble drew a foul on a drive. He made both free throws to give UNC back the lead at 71-70 with 7.7 seconds left.
• On the ensuing possession, Blakes hit a jumper from the left, directly in front of the Stanford bench, with 1.5 seconds to go for the 72-71 victory.

Up Next
The Tar Heels will visit Wake Forest on Tuesday night at 9 p.m.