STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Freshman Ebuka Okorie had 36 points and nine assists and Stanford rallied from 12 points down in the second half to beat No. 14 North Carolina 95-90 on Wednesday night.
Okorie outdueled Tar Heels freshman star Caleb Wilson and helped the Cardinal (14-4, 3-2 ACC) knock off the Tar Heels (14-3, 2-2) for the second straight season as conference opponents. North Carolina had won all 13 meetings between the schools before coach Kyle Smith took over last season in Stanford's first year in the ACC.
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North Carolina center Henri Veesaar, right, drives to the basket against Stanford forward AJ Rohosy during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson (8) shoots against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Stanford forward Aidan Cammann, middle, dunks against North Carolina guard Jaydon Young (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, right, drives to the basket against North Carolina guard Seth Trimble during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Jeremy Dent-Smith hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:04 to play for his sixth long ball of the night to make it 88-87. After Wilson turned it over at the other end, Ryan Agarwal hit another 3 to but the Cardinal up by four points with 32 seconds to play.
The Cardinal held on from there for their second win over a ranked opponent this month after beating No. 16 Louisville at home on Jan. 2. That matches the most wins against ranked wins in a season for Stanford since the Cardinal had five in 2013-14 in the last season when they made the NCAA Tournament.
Dent-Smith and Agarwal each finished with 20 points as Stanford won despite playing without second-leading scorer Chisom Okpara, who is out with a lower-body injury.
Wilson and Henri Veesaar each scored 26 points for North Carolina.
North Carolina broke out to a 12-point lead early in the first half behind Veesaar, but Okorie got Stanford back into it with 17 points and five assists as the Cardinal cut it to 47-45 at the break.
The Tar Heels scored the first eight points of the second half and built the lead back to 12 before Stanford rallied.
North Carolina: Visits California on Saturday.
Stanford: Hosts Duke on Saturday.
North Carolina center Henri Veesaar, right, drives to the basket against Stanford forward AJ Rohosy during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson (8) shoots against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Stanford forward Aidan Cammann, middle, dunks against North Carolina guard Jaydon Young (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, right, drives to the basket against North Carolina guard Seth Trimble during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”
U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”
Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.
The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.
The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.
As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”
However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)
