Stanford tops Middle Tennessee at Atlantis

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- KZ Okpala scored 22 points Friday to help Stanford beat Middle Tennessee 67-54 in the seventh-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Daejon Davis added nine points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinal (3-3), who had lost in the first round to No. 25 Wisconsin and then to Florida. That loss had left coach Jerod Haase saying he needed to "deliver the message more effectively" to get more out of his players offensively.

Stanford went ahead for good midway through the first half, led 32-23 at halftime and then shot 48 percent in the second half, when they pushed the lead to 18.

This is part of a demanding opening month for Stanford, which opened the season with a cross-country flight to visit UNC Wilmington and No. 7 North Carolina. There's also a game at No. 2 Kansas next week.

Antonio Green scored 21 points to lead the Blue Raiders (3-4), who shot 36 percent.