November 25, 1998
NEW YORK (AP) - No. 9 North Carolina used its size and strength to wear down No. 14 Purdue and defeated the Boilermakers 54-47 in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT Wednesday night.
The victory put the Tar Heels in Friday night's final against No. 3 Stanford in a matchup of two of last spring's NCAA tournament Final Four teams. The Cardinal edged No. 23 St. John's 55-53 in the opener on Arthur Lee's two free throws with 11.8 seconds left.
Seven-foot sophomore Brandan Haywood drilled three straight slam dunks at the start of the game and finished with a career-high 21 points and 11 rebounds for North Carolina. Ed Cota added 11.
It was not an easy victory for North Carolina (5-0).
Purdue (4-1) used a 10-2 run in the last 5 1/2 minutes of the first half to lead 26-19 and was still in front at 45-39 with under 10 minutes to play.
But then North Carolina took over. The Tar Heels finished with a 15-2 run and scored the game's last 12 points to seal the victory. Haywood's two free throws with 5:13 to play sent North Carolina in front to stay.
Cota made six straight foul shots down the stretch and 6-10 freshman Kris Lang nailed a pair of clutch baskets. Lang finished with six points.
North Carolina had the rebounding edge 33-23
Gary McQuay led Purdue with 13 while Brian Cardinal and Jaraan Cornell added 10 apiece.
The doubleheader drew a crowd of 14,496 to Madison Square Garden.
By HAL BOCK
AP Sports Writer