STANFORD, Calif. - Anthony Brown and his senior teammates Chasson Randle and Stefan Nastic knew they had to set the tone Saturday night after a tough loss the last time out. They accomplished their mission and then some.
Randle, Brown and Nastic each recorded at least 20 points and Stanford ran away from Arizona State 89-70, two nights are dropping a close game to No. 7 Arizona.
“The seniors set the tone and after Thursday’s loss we wanted to make sure and set the tone early,” Brown said. “We made a lot of connecting plays and guys were hitting shots.”
Stanford made over 70 percent of its shots in the first half and cooled off ever so slightly to end the game shooting nearly 59 percent.
“It’s one of the best second halves we’ve had all year,” Cardinal head coach Johnny Dawkins said. “When you come off a tough loss, you expect your most experienced players to set the pace and they came out and set the tone from the start.”
Randle and Brown contributed 21 points apiece and Nastic added 20 as the Cardinal (14-5, 5-2 Pac-12) won its eighth in 10 games. Rosco Allen had 12 points for Stanford.
Savon Goodman came off the bench to score 18 points for the Sun Devils (10-10, 2-5), who were coming off their second largest conference road victory in school history, a 79-44 pasting at California on Thursday night.
“We really had no answer for their big three,” Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek said. “We knew going in those three seniors were among the best players in the country, and they lived up to that here this evening.”
Stanford had three players score at least 20 points in the same game for the first time since March 3, 2007, when Kenny Brown (22), Brook Lopez (21) and Lawrence Hill (20) accomplished the feat against Arizona in an 85-80 overtime loss.
Stanford has won nine of its last 11 meetings with the Sun Devils, who have not won in Maples Pavilion in five years.
The Cardinal improved to 10-1 at home, marking the 22nd consecutive season with at least 10 wins at home.
The Sun Devils closed to within seven points midway through the second half on a Goodman 3-pointer. Stanford regained a double-digit advantage minutes later and never looked back.
“We were scoring, especially early, and stayed neck and neck with them for the most part,” Sendek said. “But our defense wasn't what it needed to be.”
Nastic hit a jumper with 7:15 left to play to give the Cardinal a 20-point edge as Arizona State went scoreless for over five minutes.
“He stabilizes us,” Dawkins said. “He’s a low post threat and balances us out.”
Randle played 18 minutes in the first half to become Stanford’s all-time leader in minutes played. He needed 12 to surpass Todd Lichti’s 4,107 minutes.
The game was tied at 37 with 4:53 remaining in the half before Brown and Randle sparked an 8-0 run that eventually led to a 51-41 halftime lead for the Cardinal.
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NOTES: Stanford improved to 47-32 all-time against Arizona State … Tonight was Stanford’s second 9 p.m. home tip-off of the season. The Cardinal also started at 9 p.m. against Wofford in the season opener on Nov. 14 … Stanford has yet to lose back-to-back games this season and has won its last eight games following a loss, dating back to last February … The Cardinal shot 70.4 percent (19-27) in the first half, its highest percentage in any half since torching Harvard for 73.0 percent (19-26) in the second half on Nov. 8, 2007 … Chasson Randle became Stanford’s all-time leader in minutes played, increasing his career total to 4,128. The previous record was 4,107 by Todd Lichti. Randle notched his 11th 20-point game of the season and 37th of his career … Stefan Nastic’s 20 points were his most since also totaling 20 against BYU on Dec. 20 … Stanford dished out 21 assists. The Cardinal has dished out a season-high 22 assists twice … Marcus Allen established career highs in rebounds (6) and assists (6) … Elliott Bullock’s layup with 2:11 remaining was his first bucket since March 12, 2010 against Washington, when he scored on Stanford’s final play of the season following an assist from Peter Abraham … The game featured seven ties and 10 lead changes, all coming in the first half … Stanford next travels to Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 28 (8 p.m. PT, ESPNU).
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Stanford Head coach Johnny Dawkins
“We had one of the best second halves we’ve had all year. I thought both teams were shooting the ball lights-out in the first half, and I thought in the second half, we started to concentrate on trying to follow the game plan. Arizona State has been playing very well, coming off the great win at Cal. They have some very good shooters and they have an inside player as well, so they’re a tough cover. I thought our guys did a really good job in the second half of just focusing and concentrating defensively.”
“I mentioned it to our seniors after the game just how proud I was of them. Coming off the tough loss, you have to bounce back, and you’re expecting you’re most experienced players — your seniors — to set the pace during that time. I thought all three of them came out really focused and set the tone right from the start and it carried over all 40 minutes.”
“We know they’re capable of knocking down a lot more threes than they made; they’re a terrific shooting team. Especially, when you can bring in Gilling and Barnes. Those kids are capable of hitting multiple threes every night. So you have to really try to focus in on that in the second half and make sure you try to do your best to identify where they are on the floor and hopefully slow them down some. And our guys did. That’s something that I give them a lot of credit for because a lot of times when teams get going that early, it’s hard to stop them. That basket gets a lot bigger when you see it go in a lot. And I gave our guys a lot of credit for concentrating a lot in the second half and taking some of those looks away.”
Stanford Senior Anthony Brown
“We knew it was going to be an up-and-down game. Obviously, they play a different style: pretty much all guards except for one person. We knew that they liked to push. But we had a lot of assists today, made a lot of connecting plays, and guys were just making shots.”
“The seniors set the tone, and after the game on Thursday — the tough loss — the seniors made sure that we wanted to set the tone early. We kind of just were aggressive. Guys were making assists: Marcus has six assists, he was finding guys. Rosco played well, so it was a team effort.”
“Getting more and more confident each game, for me personally. Like Coach always says, this is your last year, so have no regrets. Go out there and let it fly. He’s given me a lot of confidence letting me do what I can do, and I’m just going out there and playing.”
“The biggest thing for us is that we have to know our personnel. We’re not as big as we used to be so we have to play a little bit different. People can’t get in the lane because we don’t have shot-blockers at the rim any more. We’ve got to be able to keep them in front because once they get in the lane, it’s just kick, kick, kick. Three, three, three.”
Arizona State Head Coach Herb Sendek
“Our problems stemmed from the defensive end of the floor. We had a difficult, if not impossible, time coming up with stops all night long. We really had no answer for their big three (Randle, Brown and Nastic). They combined for 63 of their 89 points. We knew going in those three seniors were among the best players in the country, and they lived up to that here this evening.”
“We had a number of breakdowns where we weren't as aware and as alert as we needed to be, and didn't follow the game plan the right way. Having said all that, let me tell you, those three guys are really good players. They're not easy to defend. They've gotten better (each year), and obviously they were very highly sought-after coming out of high school. Now as fifth-year seniors, they're really formidable.”
“We want to push the ball and score in transition. We were scoring, especially early, and stayed neck and neck with them for the most part, but our defense wasn't what it needed to be. We had really good preparation going in, but we had too many breakdowns against a team that is that offensively talented. We had a number of good shots around the basket, even in the second half after the margin had opened, that we just didn't convert.”