Although it definitely wasn't pretty most of the night
for the Cardinal, the Stanford Men's Hoops team did just enough, including a 20-8 run in the second half, to pull out a 75-67 win over Yale in front
of a sold out crowd at John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven,
Connecticut.
The Cardinal made the 3,000 mile journey to face the
Bulldogs to open their season and started out the game looking like it had left
its game back in California, including two missed dunks by sophomore Josh Owens
in the opening possessions of the game for Stanford. However, Yale was a
hospitable opponent by also playing sluggish basketball in front of the partisan
crowd, leading just 4-0, three minutes into the game. In a nip-and-tuck
first half, Stanford never led by more than five points and shot just 40% from
the field and 44% from the line to take a 30-29 lead into the locker room.
Yale used 16 points off the bench to keep it close, along with leading Stanford
on the boards by a 19-18 margin.
In a game which featured 13 lead
changes, Stanford took the last edge early in the 2nd half after a layup by
Mitch Johnson. From there, the Cardinal tried to extend the lead slowly
but surely, but were rebuffed a couple of times by the inspired Bulldogs.
It wasn't until Yale tried a 2-3 zone midway through the second half that
Stanford, specifically Anthony Goods, lit up the nets, propelling Stanford to a
seemingly safer cushion in the hostile environment. In a 90-second span,
Goods hit three wide open three-pointers, giving Stanford a 52-43 lead with just
over 10 minutes to play. However, Yale came back to cut the lead to four
after a three-point play by Travis Pinick.
Stanford never led by less
than four the rest of the way, using a decisive 9-0 run late in the second
stanza to give themselves a 66-53 advantage with 3:27 left in the game.
The Bulldogs would make one last run, getting to within six after an Alex Zampier three-pointer with 42 seconds left in the contest, but Stanford put the
game away with four free throws by Lawrence Hill and Goods to help the
Cardinal seal the victory.
Stanford shot 52% in the second half, compared
to Yale's 47% clip, but neither team was good from the free throw line, clanking
and even airballing a combined 21 from the charity stripe. The Cardinal,
though, got there more often, making 19 of their 31 attempts, while Yale was
just 7-16. Yale was able to stay in the game with a spirited effort on the
offensive and defensive glass, outrebounding the Cardinal 44-33, including 14
rebounds on the offensive end.
Stanford was led Hill who had 22 points
and 11 rebounds on 8-11 shooting from the field. Goods pitched in with 19
and Johnson had 11, along with six assists and only one turnover. Yale's
leading scorer was Zampier with 15 on 6-8 shooting. Raffi Mantilla came
off the Bulldogs bench to contribute 10 in the losing effort.
Stanford
begins its home slate on Tuesday, November 18th when they face the Cal State
Northridge Matadors at Maples Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm
PST.
Official Box Score via Yale Athletics
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