Stanford (12-11, 7-6 Pac-12) made a school-record 19 three point shots and used a 25-0 run to defeat USC (9-15, 3-10 Pac-12) 99-68 in front of a sellout crowd in Maples Pavilion.
USC scored the game’s first 4 points, and the Cardinal advantage stood at just 15-14 at the 13 minute mark of the first half. Over the next 7 ½ minutes the Trojans went 0-7 from the field and committed 6 turnovers, while Stanford shot 7-9 from the three point line to make it 40-14 by the time USC could come up for air. Stanford fed off the energy of the season’s first home sellout, as the crowd helped propel the game into deeper levels of absurdity.
“The energy is contagious,” said Benny Gealer. “We were all excited to play this one. It’s the best crowd I’ve played in front of this season.”
The Cardinal had everything going. They took a 55-26 lead into the locker room thanks to 12-19 shooting from deep. They were also 6-8 inside the arc. While the Trojan trio of Boogie Ellis, Isaiah Collier, and Kobe Johnson combined for 69 points in the teams’ first meeting, they could only muster 8 points in the first 20 minutes tonight. The Cardinal defense likes to keep a stat called 'turkeys', defined as three consecutive defensive stops. Maxime Raynaud reported that they had five turkeys in the first half alone.
“This shows we can be a great defensive team,” Maxime said. “We’ve always been a great shooting team. If we can get both together, that would be amazing.”
Guards Andrej Stojakovic and Benny Gealer provided instant offense off the bench, scoring a combined 25 first half points including 7 made threes. They finished the game with career highs of 20 and 14, respectively. For Andrej, it was his first game in double figures since December.
“You never see the residual effects of good or bad with Andrej,” said Jerod Haase. “He’s going to come in with a smile, a willingness and eagerness to learn, and he’s fun to coach.”
USC got things going offensively in the second half, but were still outscored 44-42 in the period. The lowest they were able to get the deficit was 21 points, as Stanford stayed in firm control the entire way. Freshman Isaiah Collier was the lone Trojan in double figures with 18 points, thanks to an 8-15 night at the foul line. Much of the hoopla in the early game was centered around Bronny James, but he managed only 6 points on 7 shots.
Walk-ons Josue Gil-Silva and Roy Yuan checked into the game in the closing minutes, much to the delight of the capacity crowd. Roy made the team’s 19th three of the game and hammed it up for the student section. For the two former managers, those minutes were a reward for years of consistent hard work.
“The craziest thing about it is their investment throughout every single step of the process,” said Maxime. “When they were managers, they were rebounding for us and always available. And once they made the team, they kept the same energy and remained hungry.”
Maxime Raynaud continued his stretch of strong play, tallying 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists on 10-11 shooting. He is averaging 24.7 points over his last three outings.
“He loves the game right now,” said Jerod Haase of his big man. “He’s in there before and after practice. I really feel that he’s fallen in love with the process of getting better.”
Spencer Jones and Kanaan Carlyle rounded out the five Cardinal in double figures, with 15 and 10, respectively. They shot 19-38 from three as a team, and 56% from the field overall. They were +16 on the glass, had 23 assists, and 39 points off their bench. They now sit at 8th in the country in three point percentage, at 39.4% on the year.
“We don’t always want to make it a three point shooting battle,” said Andrej. “But when that’s the case, we’re equipped with the right guys to compete with anyone in the country.”
The Cardinal set their previous school record of 16 three point makes in December’s home upset of Arizona. They made 12 in the first half tonight, another program record. Their 19 makes also match the most made by any team in Division I basketball this season.
With 7 games to go in Pac-12 play, Stanford sits in fifth place.