STANFORD, Calif. - Chasson Randle scored a career-high 35 points to lead Stanford to a 74-65 victory against Rhode Island in the second round of the Postseason NIT on Sunday.
Randle came into the game with 2,275 career points, third on Stanford's all-time list, and now needs 27 to break Todd Lichti's school record.
"I just want to keep winning, to be real," Randle said. "It would be a great achievement to be the all-time leading scorer, but I just want to go out on a right note with this team."
Anthony Brown had 16 points for Stanford (21-13) and Stefan Nastic added seven points with 11 rebounds. Randle made 9-16 from the field and 15-19 free throws.
E.C. Matthews had 24 points and seven rebounds for led Rhode Island (23-10). Hassan Martin added 16 points and eight rebounds.
Stanford, which won the NIT title in 1991 and 2012, outscored Rhode Island 36-12 from the free throw line, taking 49 foul shots compared to 21 for the Rams.
Stanford led 44-41 with 12:45 left to play, but went on a 12-5 run to extend its lead to 56-46 with under six minutes left. Randle made it 60-51 with a pair of free throws after a flagrant foul on Rhode Island's Jarvis Garrett.
"We knew coming in that they were a very tough team," Randle said. "They're scrappy, do whatever it takes to win the game. We just wanted to respond. I think our guys did a good job of that." Randle scored 18 points in the first half as Stanford built a 31-27 lead. He made Stanford's first six field goals, and his teammates were 0-18 until Marcus Allen's tip-in with 3:55 left.
Stanford will host Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 24 at 6 p.m. PT.
NOTES: Stanford improved to 4-0 all-time against Rhode Island. Sunday marked the 17th anniversary of Stanford’s 79-77 victory in the 1998 NCAA Elite 8, advancing the Cardinal to its first Final Four … Stanford improved to 15-3 at home and 91-30 at Maples Pavilion under head coach Johnny Dawkins … Chasson Randle (2,310 career points) is now 27 away from becoming Stanford’s all-time scoring leader and passing Todd Lichti (2,336). Randle notched his fourth 30-point game of the season and eighth of his career … Anthony Brown entered the game 2-2 from the foul line over the last six games combined. He finished 10-10 from the charity stripe and has made 15 in a row dating back to Feb. 26 against Oregon State … Stanford owned a 38-35 rebounding edge, with Stefan Nastic notching his sixth double-figure rebounding game of the season and first since Feb. 5 against UCLA. Reid Travis also chipped in with seven boards … Stanford forced 15 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Cardinal has committed 10 miscues or fewer in 18 games.
Stanford Head coach Johnny Dawkins
“Told my guys I was just very proud of them and the way they performed tonight against one of the toughest teams we’ve faced in terms of level of physicality that they bring to the games. Danny does a great job — his teams really compete to a high, high level. And I thought our guys did a really good job of responding to that tonight. I challenged them before the game, ‘Are we up to it?’ I’m just proud that we really were. For 40 minutes, we just matched their physicality and we were able to still play our game.”
“I always tell [Chasson] he needs to come out and set the tone for us because he’s our pace-setter. He came out very aggressive and got us off to a great start. I knew they were really digging defensively as they did, but I thought we had an answer every time. Somebody would respond with a play, whether a drive and finish to the basket with Anthony or Stef getting to the post and getting fouled, or Chasson making plays. I thought every time that they made a really good run, someone stepped up and had an answer.”
“It was going to be a physical game. I watched a lot of tape and saw that they’re a physical team and they’re very successful with that brand of basketball. I knew our guys were going to have to really focus and concentrate because whenever you play a team that physical, any type of mental let-up or letdown, and they’re going to take advantage.”
“They’re not ready for this season to be over. A lot of times because of the grind of a season, the mental languish, the physical — you’re getting worn down — at the end of the season, there are teams that are just finished. They’re running on fumes. Our team — they’re not performing that way… We’ve had moments that have been very good that shows that our guys have not mailed it in. They want a chance to compete for a championship. This gives us an opportunity.”
Stanford Senior Chasson Randle
“My teammates just told me to stay aggressive from the beginning, and I just tried to follow their advice. They told me they were going to lean on me and I was just trying to will them to a win.”
“I just want to keep winning. It would be a great achievement to be the all-time leading scorer but I just want to go out on a right note with this team. We didn’t achieve what we wanted — to make the NCAA tournament — but we were granted an opportunity here in the NIT, so we just want to keep playing games.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s been a struggle. Teams have been keying in on me a little bit more. Shots have fallen some nights; shots haven’t fallen some nights. You just have to stay consistent and keep fighting with your effort.”
Rhode Island Head Coach Dan Hurley
“It's been an amazing season for us. Obviously, the difference in the game was in the free throws. The free-throw discrepancy played a huge role in the game. I was so proud of the way we fought, but I thought we deserved better than what we got there (from the referees). Obviously, without that differential we would have had a great chance to win the game. Forty-nine free throws is the most I've seen. That's an impossible situation to overcome on the road.”
“The hard part was keeping Randle off the free throw line. He's got a chance to be the all-time leading scorer here, and he was going to get his (points). He made some tough shots, and he lived at the free throw line.”
“We lived in the lane. We wanted to get to the free throw line as well, but that didn't work out quite as well for us. But when it became a one-possession game, we had a chance, but the free throws and the turnovers, too, hurt us.”
“We played at the top of our league the whole year. We were two possessions away from winning our regular season title outright. In the conference tournament semifinal, we were four minutes away from paying for the championship. That's a couple years removed from winning 29 games over the course of three years. This was a huge year for us to reestablish ourselves as a program that has a potential postseason every year. To do what we did, starting two freshmen and two sophomores as four of our most critical players, it was absolutely amazing. Most programs, playing those type of players, didn't have anywhere near the year we had. We feel like we can take another big step next year.”