STANFORD, Calif. - An injury opened the door for Michael Humphrey to get into Stanford's starting lineup. The freshman forward is making his own case to stay there.
Humphrey scored 14 points and had a season-high 15 rebounds for his second straight double-double, and Stanford beat Oregon State 75-48 on Thursday night.
"I definitely feel more comfortable but I think it all starts with practice," Humphrey said. "Everyone is getting more comfortable with the way we're all playing in practice and it's translating to the game. We've had some really intense practices and that's what's helping us out."
Chasson Randle added 15 points, Anthony Brown had 13 points and eight rebounds and Marcus Allen scored 10 points to help the Cardinal overcome a shaky start and win for just the third time in its last seven games.
Stanford (18-9, 9-6 Pac-12) trailed most of the first half and was down by as much as nine before going on a 22-4 run early in the second half.
Humphrey, making his fourth straight start in place of injured forward Rosco Allen, scored six points during the run while Brown added five points.
"I've seen a young man really start to blossom," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. "That's always fun to watch. I still think there's so much potential in him."
Gary Payton II scored 17 points for Oregon State (17-11, 8-8). The Beavers shot just 20.8 percent in the second half and lost for the fourth time in five games.
Stanford stayed close early until Payton scored consecutive baskets to kick start a 15-3 run by Oregon State. Olaf Schaftenaar and Langston Morris-Walker added back-to-back 3-pointers to help extend the Beavers lead to 28-19.
The Cardinal missed 11 consecutive shots -- including five layups -- and went more than seven minutes without a basket before making a late surge. Marcus Allen's 3-pointer with one second left in the half pulled Stanford within 30-28.
The Beavers maintained a slim lead into the second half but couldn't stop Randle.
Stanford's leading scorer, Randle opened the half with a 3-pointer then later scored on consecutive trips down the floor as part of the Cardinal's game-changing run.
After struggling to find any consistency with its offense in the first half, the Cardinal were decidedly more aggressive in the second half. Randle repeatedly drove the lane and kept Oregon State's defense on its heels while Humphrey's work inside the paint helped Stanford control the boards.
"That's one of the best second halves our team has played this season," Dawkins said. "Our guys made some adjustments and were able to find some openings where they were able to get some looks."
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NOTES: Stanford has won five of the last six matchups against Oregon State … Michael Humphrey has grabbed 26 rebounds over the last two games. In his first 24 contests, Humphrey had hauled down 49 boards combined … Stanford has trailed at halftime in five of its last six games … Chasson Randle has cored 2,176 career points and is 161 away from becoming Stanford’s all-time scoring leader. Randle moved past Gary Payton into sixth place among all-time scoring leaders in conference history … Stanford was 22-26 from the foul line compared to Oregon State’s 8-16 clip. Chasson Randle was perfect in eight attempts and has made 19 in a row from the charity stripe over his last three games … Oregon State was limited to 5-24 overall and 1-8 from beyond the arc in the second half … Marcus Allen added 10 points, reaching double figures for the fourth time this season … Stanford held a 46-22 edge on the boards. The +24 rebounding margin matched a season-high total, also accomplished with a 48-24 advantage against Connecticut on Jan. 17 … Stanford hosts Oregon on Sunday at 4 p.m. PT in the final home game of the regular season. It’s also Senior Night, as Anthony Brown, Elliott Bullock, Wade Morgan, Stefan Nastic, Chasson Randle and Jack Ryan will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
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Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
"That was one of the best second halves we played this season against a great Oregon State team. Our guys made some adjustments and were able to find some openings where they were able to get some looks. The defense did great in the second half. We made adjustments which helped our defensive game. Offensively, we executed well in the second half, but we hang our hats on our defensive game, which also did a great job in the second half."
Stanford Senior Anthony Brown
"The defense was good night. In the first half, we started a little slow and gave up 30 points, but in the second half we picked up the intensity. The talk at halftime really gave us the push to pick up the intensity and play better in the second half."
Stanford Freshman Michael Humphrey
"I feel more comfortable with my role, but everyone is getting more comfortable as well, which makes our game easier to play. We had hard practices this week that has helped us shape up, but the game time minutes help a lot as well.”
Oregon State Head Coach Wayne Tinkle
“They got out in transition on us, and we couldn't get any baskets. They were blocking shots, we were missing free throws, we didn't do anything to try to stem the tide. We used some timeouts, but we couldn't respond. I don't know if our guys just spent themselves in the first half, or what. When you're struggling to score, you've got to take advantage of opportunities at the rim, opportunities at the stripe.”
“I think their physicality at the start of the second half really took it out of us. We had a few guys foul out, and it was just tough on us. And yeah, they killed us on the boards.”
“We were fighting. We were getting it off the rim, we were getting shots, we were getting stops. But the sad thing, is again, which has happened to us previously, is that we let them back in the game in the last couple of minutes of the first half. We should have closed them out, had a double-figure lead, and then it's different. We gave them a little bit of a taste, and then they came out and manhandled us in the second half.”