TEMPE, Arizona – Winning a defensive battle led by a 17-2 run over the final 7:25, Stanford men's basketball downed Arizona State, 71-62, on Thursday night at Desert Financial Arena. The Cardinal improves to 6-4 in the Pac-12 and remains just one game out of first place in the Pac-12.
Brandon Angel led the Cardinal with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, while Michael Jones chipped in 18 points with five made 3-pointers. Maxime Raynaud tallied his eighth double-double, and his fifth in the last six games, with 12 points and 17 rebounds. Benny Gealer added eight points and four assists with zero turnovers.
Raynaud's 17 rebounds are the most for a Stanford player since Josh Sharma had 18 on Dec. 29, 2018 against Long Beach State, and Stanford had two players with a double-double for the first time since Jan. 7, 2021, when Oscar da Silva and Ziaire Williams had double- and triple-doubles, respectively, in the same game against Washington.
The Sun Devils struck early with the first nine points of the game, but Stanford responded with a 10-2 run of its own to pull back within one point, 11-10, less than three minutes later. The Cardinal led for the first time, 15-14, but the Sun Devils held the lead at the half, 33-29, despite six opening period lead changes.
Stanford opened the second half on a 12-2 run, taking a 41-35 lead, but Arizona State again responded to re-take the lead with 13 minutes to play, 46-45. The Cardinal trailed by as many as six in the half, 60-54 with 7:25 to play, and ended the game on a 17-2 run. Raynaud scored six points down the stretch while Angel and Gealer scored four points each to secure the result in Stanford's favor.
The win was Stanford's first at Arizona State since March 3, 2018, and the Cardinal split the season series with the Sun Devils.
The Cardinal continues its road trip at No. 11/12 Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m. PT. The action will be broadcast on FS1.