Okpala, Cardinal shut down Seahawks

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Sophomore KZ Okpala had 23 points and Stanford scored 17 straight first-half points to take control and beat UNC Wilmington 72-59 on Friday night.

Cormac Ryan added 14 for the Cardinal (2-0), who trailed by eight early but held the Seahawks without a field goal for the final 7½ minutes of the first half to take a 39-25 lead at the break.

Stanford pushed that margin to 18. UNC Wilmington got no closer than eight again.

It was the second straight big game for Okpala, a 6foot-9 forward who had a career-best 29 points in the season-opening win against Seattle on Tuesday.

The Seahawks are having trouble with turnovers. They had 18 turnovers that led to 25 points in Tuesday’s 97-93 overtime loss at Campbell. They struggled again to take care of the basketball against Stanford, including two straight turnovers to open the second half that killed any chance of quick momentum out of the break. UNCW finished with 20 turnovers that Stanford converted into 26 points.

The Seahawks were hosting a power-conference opponent for the first time since December 2009. There was a connection that helped schedule this matchup: The teams are coached by former Kansas teammates and North Carolina assistant coaches under Roy Williams in Stanford’s Jerod Haase and UNC Wilmington’s C.B. McGrath.

The Cardinal visit No. 8 North Carolina on Monday.