STANFORD, Calif. - Marcus Allen scored a career-high 22 points and Chasson Randle added 18 to lead Stanford to a 77-64 victory against UC Davis in the first round of the Postseason NIT on Tuesday night.
"I was ready to play from the start," said Allen, who was 10-12 from the field. "I want to win this tournament."
Reid Travis notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Anthony Brown chipped in with 11 points.
Corey Hawkins, the Big West Player of the Year, scored a season-high 34 points on 12-of-22 shooting for UC Davis (25-7, 14-2 Big West), which played its first NCAA Division I postseason game in school history.
“I don't know if it's set in yet," Hawkins said. "I couldn't have imagined a more bittersweet way to go out, and I felt like I owed my teammates to play absolutely as hard as I could. They deserve all the props because without them my performances and my awards wouldn't have been possible. It's sad, but hopefully we've raised the bar for this program."
Stanford (20-13, 9-9 Pac-12) opened the second half on a 20-6 run, extending its lead to 57-42 with 11:50 left to play. Allen ignited the run with three straight baskets to open the half, two layups and a jump shot.
"I think my teammates spread the floor more for me," Allen said. "I was able to find lanes."
Hawkins scored 21 points on 7-10 shooting in the first half, but Stanford led 37-36 at the break. Randle and Allen each scored eight first-half points for the Cardinal.
Stanford led 30-19 with under six minutes left in the first half, but the Aggies went on an 11-0 run and pulled even with 3:30 left. UC Davis, which entered the game shooting a sizzling 45.0 percent from long range, missed its first five 3-point shots before Hawkins connected from beyond the arc with under five minutes left in the half. Hawkins made two 3-pointers and Tyler Less one during the Aggies' run.
For the game, Stanford held UC Davis to 37.3 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Stanford next faces Rhode Island, which defeated Iona 88-75 on Tuesday. The date and location of that game will be announced Wednesday.
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NOTES: Stanford improved to 39-22 all-time in the postseason. Making its 26th postseason appearance overall, the Cardinal is also 14-5 in eight NIT appearances … Stanford is 18-1 all-time against UC Davis, having won six in a row … Head coach Johnny Dawkins has produced four 20-win seasons, second in school history only to Mike Montgomery’s 13 during an 18-year tenure … Stanford joins Arizona, Colorado and Oregon as the only Pac-12 schools to have appeared in four consecutive postseasons … Chasson Randle (2,275 career points) is now 62 away from becoming Stanford’s all-time scoring leader, trailing only Todd Lichti (2,336) and Adam Keefe (2,319) … Prior to tonight, Reid Travis had tallied four double-figure scoring games and three double-figure rebounding games … Stanford held a 38-25 advantage on the boards, with five players grabbing at least four rebounds … The Cardinal dished out 17 assists, its highest total since recording 21 handouts against Arizona State on Jan. 24 … Stanford led at halftime (37-36) for only the third time in the last 13 games … Corey Hawkins’ 34 points were the most by an opposing player at Maples Pavilion since Arizona’s Ivan Radenovic poured in 37 on March 3, 2007 … Stanford improved to 14-3 at home this season and 90-30 at Maples Pavilion under head coach Johnny Dawkins.
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Stanford Head coach Johnny Dawkins
“It was a great game for our area. UC Davis was having the best season they’ve had as a Division I program. I think Jim Les has done a great job with his team and it was just a big game for the area. I’m happy that we were able to prevail. I know it’s their first time in postseason play and I think they represented their program extremely well.”
“I’m just really happy the way our guys were able to respond against a team that’s been very, very hot. For our guys to bounce back from a tough loss and play the way we played — I’m just really proud of their character. I thought they really stepped up and showed how much they want to be in this tournament and how much they want to compete.”
“[Marcus Allen] is a very good driver of the ball. He’s finishing the ball very well now, which is something he’s gotten better and better as the years have progressed. Getting to a point where he gets to the basket — he’s very efficient around the basket. I’m happy to see his development. He’s a weapon; he’s a capable three-point shooter so you can’t just leave him out there. And that sets up his ability to drive and he’s a strong driver. So I just see a young man who’s gaining confidence, who works as hard as any player.”
“Marcus is the player who after the game is over, he’s going to the gym and getting up more shots and working on his game. He wants to be a really good players and he’s willing to pay the price by working at it. I’m just really proud of him, and he’s great for our culture of work. He’s great in the classroom and he’s great on the court. That’s what you want to have — guys in your program that aspire to be great at whatever they do. He definitely exemplifies that.”
“After a loss like that [to Utah], you can go two ways: you can be ready for the season to be over or still have something to play for. Our guys are excited that we still have a chance to play in the NIT. Our seniors are excited. The rest of our players are excited. And I think you can tell by how they played tonight. They had some really good stretches of playing that showed that our kids want to play — they want to win. They still want to compete. And I’m really proud of them for that because that takes some maturity.”
Stanford Sophomore Marcus Allen
“The key was defense and energy. Just playing harder than our opponent. On defense, just locking in. Guarding the three-point line was big for us against this team because they were shooting — I think — third or second in the country in three-point percentage. That was huge for us.”
“Towards the end of the first half we started playing a little sluggish. The main emphasis when we came out of the locker room in the second half was just to come out with more energy and to get out and run more in transition. That really helped us a lot in the second half. Those two things really helped us a lot in the second half to get the lead back up where we wanted it to be.”
“My teammates really spaced the floor more for me and I was able to find lanes. My teammates really got me in great positions to score tonight. I was ready to play from the start. I want to win this tournament, so it’s one game at a time. I’m going to come out like I do every night and just try to provide something, so I was pretty focused.”
UC Davis Head Coach Jim Les
“I'm disappointed but also very appreciative. This group put UC Davis basketball on the map. A lot of people said it couldn't be done, but this group, especially our seniors, brought hard work, great competitiveness and great character to this program and did a lot of things that people thought were impossible. We're very proud of that, and they've set a standard that we're going to try and live up to.”
“It's easy to get caught up in Corey’s production. He's a great player. You look at his numbers and they wow you. But what people don't know and what makes him special is his character, his leadership ability, his work ethic. He's been an unbelievable ambassador for this university and he's an unbelievable student-athlete. That, encompassed with being a great player, has been an unbelievable example for who we want to be going forward in terms of our basketball program and the people who make up our program.”
“For us to win the game, we didn't have to be perfect, but we had to be as close to perfect as possible. We had some opportunities, some missed shots that we normally make that we didn't make. We had some defensive miscues that we made that we can't afford to make against a good team that's going to take advantage of that. We weren't as efficient as we'd like, they took advantage of it, creating a lead and we just couldn't get back in the game. We wanted to be perfect, but because of them, we weren't as perfect as we'd have liked.”
UC Davis Senior Corey Hawkins
“I don't know if it's set in yet. I couldn't have imagined a more bittersweet way to go out, and I felt like I owed my teammates to play as absolutely as hard as I could. They deserve all the props, because without them, my performances and my awards wouldn't have been possible. All the awards are really team awards. It's sad, but hopefully we've raised the bar for this program. When I come back, I hope to see nothing but years like this.”
“I told myself I finally wanted to play well against my godfather (Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins). I've come here a couple times and haven't played that well, so I told myself to go and out be aggressive. I feel like I can compete with anybody. I wanted to try and lift my team to the next round. Unfortunately I fell short, but I think we battled all night.”
“He (Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins) just told me he was proud of me. He told me "great game"; he looks forward to being a part of my career and later on in life, and he's part of my family. He's been nothing but supportive of me. I have nothing but respect and love for him -- he's a great coach and a great person.”