STANFORD, Calif. (AP) – Marcus Allen injects energy from the tip-off. Dorian Pickens looks to match that or even raise it coming off the bench. The plan worked the way they wanted.
Allen scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half, Pickens added 16 points, and Stanford beat DePaul 79-60 Tuesday night.
"We emphasize bringing our own energy," Allen said. "It's not tough when you know you're going out there with your guys."
Pickens scored 10 of his points after halftime.
"I want to come off the bench with a ton of offense," Pickens said. "When I come in, there should be no letdown, and maybe even more energy. The big thing for us is we have a deep team and everybody comes to the game ready to contribute."
Rosco Allen scored 14 and Reid Travis had 12 for the Cardinal (5-3), who won their third straight.
Aaron Simpson scored 16 points to lead the Blue Demons (5-5), who lost their second straight following a four-game winning streak. Simpson was 4-of-8 from 3-point range, one off his career high. Billy Garrett Jr. added 15 points and Myke Henry had 13.
"They got off to a quick start and we were slow physically and mentally," DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. "They made early shots because they were ready. Conversely, when we were on offense, we were really sloppy. So we ended up turning over the ball, and turnovers are touchdowns. We had to play uphill from the start."
Garrett, held to a season-low two points in the Blue Demons loss to Little Rock on Saturday, recorded his ninth double-digit game of the year and the 52nd of his career.
Garrett, an 88 percent free throw shooter, made a pair of foul shots in the second half to take over ninth place in school history with 340 free throws.
Stanford never trailed in the contest, opening a 5-0 lead and using a 30-13 edge in points off turnovers to remain in control.
"Our first half defense was as good as it has been all year," Cardinal coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We came together and made a lot of plays. We had active hands, got some deflections and got into passing lanes. I've been on the team how our assist-to-turnover ratio has to be better and it has been better."
Marcus Allen scored 11 of Stanford's first 19 points, hitting a 3-pointer 6:15 into the contest and giving the Cardinal a 19-8 edge.
Allen hit all three of his 3-point attempts and the Cardinal made 7 of 11 overall in the first 20 minutes.
Stanford, which had a 15-4 edge in points off turnovers in the first half, eventually took a 39-24 lead into halftime.
TIPINS:
The Blue Demons are no strangers to the Pac-12. They entered play Saturday with a 28-31 record against the conference and have played every team at least twice. The Cardinal became the fifth team in the conference DePaul has met at least five times.
UP NEXT:
Stanford hosts Texas on Saturday night. The series is tied, 2-2, with two of the last three meetings decided in overtime.