Sasha Stefanovic’s 23 points and Jaden Ivey’s 22 carried No. 6 Purdue past No. 18 North Carolina 93-84 Saturday in a game with some rapid scoring spurts for both teams in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in Uncasville, Conn.
Trevion Williams shot 8-for-10 from the field and had 20 points off the bench for Purdue (4-0).
The Boilermakers will meet No. 5 Villanova in Sunday’s title game, followed by North Carolina against No. 17 Tennessee in the consolation game. Villanova topped Tennessee 71-53 in Saturday’s first game.
North Carolina (3-1) received 26 points from Dawson Garcia, but the outcome resulted in the first loss for first-year coach Hubert Davis.
RJ Davis and Caleb Love both scored 18 points for the Tar Heels, who made 12 shots from 3-point range.
North Carolina took its first lead at 65-64 with less than 10 minutes to play on Garcia’s 3-pointer. Purdue then responded with a 10-0 run, and the Tar Heels followed with the next seven points.
It was the Boilermakers’ turn again with the next seven points for an 81-72 edge with less than five minutes to play.
North Carolina’s Armando Bacot sat out almost 10 straight second-half minutes after picking up his fourth foul. He finished with two points.
Purdue shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and led 41-35 at the break. The Boilermakers held a couple of eight-point leads in the opening half.
Stefanovic drilled four 3-point shots in the first half and also had four assists.
Garcia shot 7-for-7 for 15 first-half points and began the second half by making a 3.
But the Tar Heels, who were charged with 11 turnovers in the first half, didn’t attempt a free throw before halftime.
Purdue was 2-for-4 on first-half foul shots. In the first nine minutes of the second half, North Carolina was 7-for-7 on foul shots.
–Field Level Media
