PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Stanford got within two of Wisconsin with just over six minutes remaining, but the Badgers responded with 18 of the game's final 22 points in a 62-46 setback for the Cardinal in its Battle 4 Atlantis tournament opener Wednesday afternoon at Imperial Arena.
Stanford will face Florida in its next game of the three-day tournament, on Thursday at 4 p.m. PT. The Cardinal and Gators faced off last year on Thanksgiving Day in Portland as part of the PK80 Invitational.
Sophomore KZ Okpala, who scored seven of his team-high 11 points in the second half, connected on a three-pointer to cut it to 44-42 with 6:53 remaining. The Cardinal had two opportunities to tie it on its ensuing possession, but could not convert.
Wisconsin (4-0) responded on the other end with a Brad Davison three-point play to spark a 9-0 run for the Badgers.
They held Stanford (2-2) without a field goal the remainder of the contest, while finishing the game on an 18-4 run for the 16-point win.
Stanford, which shot a season-low 27 percent in the contest (16-of-59), was 2-for-18 (11 percent) from beyond the arc against the Badgers.
The Cardinal fell behind by 10 points twice during the opening minutes of the second half after opening the period 2-for-11 from the field overall and 0-for-5 from three-point range.
Stanford battled back each time, with Oscar da Silva cutting the Stanford deficit to three on a three-point play with 9:19 to go. The sophomore forward scored all seven of his points after halftime.
Wisconsin broke a 24-24 tie with 2:22 remaining in the first with the final four points of the opening period and the first four of the second half to surge ahead by 32-24 with 18:07 left.
Okpala nearly posted his second double-double of the season with 11 points and eight rebounds. Fellow sophomore Daejon Davis finished with eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists. da Silva collected seven points and eight rebounds.
Wisconsin was led by Ethan Happ, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Badgers.
