STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford men’s basketball continued its strong start in non-conference action with a 74-68 victory over Merrimack at Maples Pavilion. Stanford improves to 9-2 this season with the result.
Oziyah Sellers led the offense with 19 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers, while Maxime Raynaud and Jaylen Blakes scored 16 points apiece. Raynaud tallied his nation-leading ninth double-double of the season with 16 rebounds, while Blakes secured a career-best seven rebounds to go with a game-high five assists and a perfect 4-for-4 mark from 3-point range. Ryan Agarwal also finished in double figures with 11 points with three makes from beyond the arc, while Chisom Okpara had nine points.
Stanford went 11-for-23 as a team from beyond the arc, giving Stanford double figure 3-point field goals for the third time in four games and the fifth time this season.
The Cardinal led from start to finish and went ahead by as many as 19 points in the opening half, 31-12, with 7:19 to go. Sellers scored 13 in the first half while Blakes had 11, but the Warriors (5-7) closed the frame on a 10-2 run, and Stanford led at the intermission by nine, 39-30.
Raynaud tallied 11 points and nine rebounds over the final 20 minutes, with the Cardinal leading by as many as 12 points in the second half. Stanford made 11 free throws in the second half to lock in the victory.
Stanford concludes its non-conference play on Saturday, Dec. 21 at the San Jose Tip-Off against No. 10/10 Oregon. The contests tips off at 5 p.m. at SAP Center, and it will air on Big Ten Network.