STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford men’s basketball continued its strong start to non-conference action with a 77-63 victory over Utah Valley at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal improves to 7-2 on the season with the result.
Jaylen Blakes led the way with 18 points to go with a career-high tying six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Entering the game in the top-10 nationally in free throw attempts, Blakes got to the line 10 times to go with five made field goals. Oziyah Sellers added 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting, while Maxime Raynaud scored 14 points while matching his career best with 17 rebounds. Ryan Agarwal was also in double figures with 10.
Stanford’s defense held the Wolverines (4-4) to jut 36.9 percent shooting and 29.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Cardinal trailed by six points through 4:45 of action, 12-6, but responded with a 12-3 run to take control. Blakes, Raynaud and Sellers combined for 25 points over the opening 20 minutes, and Stanford ended the first half on a 10-0 run to lead by 12 at the half, 38-26.
Stanford started the second half where it left off in the first, with its lead growing to 19, 49-30, after extending the run to 21-4 spanning both halves. The Wolverines managed to pull as close as nine in the period, but Stanford quickly regained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the period.
Stanford opens ACC action against rival California on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. in Berkeley. The action will air on ACC Network.