Stanford men’s basketball (6-2) dropped its first home game of the season in disappointing fashion as Cal Poly (5-4) came back from as many as 13 points to win 97-90 on Saturday night.
The Cardinal spread their points around in an improvement from Tuesday’s loss in the Acrisure Classic but were unable to stem a steady tide of three-pointers from the Mustangs down the stretch, which ultimately proved the difference.
Stanford secured an early advantage through graduate guard Jaylen Blakes, before junior guard Oziyah Sellers drew the first foul of the game after driving strongly to the basket and initiating contact. Nine early Stanford points, though, were quickly matched by the Mustangs, before senior forward Maxime Raynaud scored from deep to prompt a timeout.
Junior guard Benny Gealer — left out of the last couple starting lineups by head coach Kyle Smith after poor shooting performances — was introduced early and had a big impact. First, he sunk a three, before nearly intercepting a pass which led to the Mustangs rushing and ultimately giving the ball away to junior forward Chisom Okpara. Another substitute — true freshman guard Anthony Batson Jr. — executed an excellent block against a Mustang forward to cue raucous cheers from the home crowd.
However, Stanford was unable to secure momentum as the first half progressed. Blakes committed a back-court violation before redshirt sophomore Ryan Agarwal had a poor turnover seeking Raynaud in the key. There were flashes of brilliance as well, though, as Raynaud sunk another triple, before Sellers — while driving to the basket — completed an audacious over-the-shoulder pass which nearly paid off as Agarwal’s deep effort bounced in and out.
Stanford’s dependable star Raynaud had — for his incredibly high standards — a frustrating evening, failing to register a double-double for the first time this season. He was routinely swarmed by multiple defenders, leading to a first-half turnover and missed a couple of jumpers from within the key in quick succession. He quickly bounced back though, slamming home after his swift cut to the basket was met by Okpara’s bounce pass.
Stanford held the Mustangs at arms length throughout the first half and were worthy leaders at the interval, 43-34. However, Cal Poly exhibited both tenacity and finesse in the second period, scoring 63 points.
“It was an offensive clinic by Cal Poly in the second half,” Smith said. “As the game wore on, they made some great plays.”
The turnaround was spearheaded by a remarkable increase in three-point shooting percentage for the Mustangs. After shooting 25% from deep in the first half, Stanford’s opponent scored an impressive 57% of its three-point attempts in the second period. Stanford, by contrast, had a 3% dip in efficiency from behind the line in the second half, from 31.6% to 28.6%.
In particular, the Mustangs leaned on incredible individual performances from graduate guard and forward Owen Koonce and senior guard Isaac Jessup, who scored 30 and 21 points respectively. Jessup was expertly efficient, going 5-8 from three in just 28 minutes of play. His consecutive threes with five minutes remaining gave Cal Poly its first lead of the game since 100 seconds into the first half, when he had again scored from deep to make it a 5-2 game. Put simply, Koonce and Jessup were remarkable and deserve recognition for undoing Stanford on Saturday night.
“Koonce is just a good athlete, well-conditioned and really skilled,” Smith said. “He made some tough shots.”
Despite the loss, Stanford can take some positives from the game. Chiefly, the team spread its points around, ending a dependence on Raynaud, Sellers and Blakes which had stunted the team in its loss to Grand Canyon University last Tuesday. Gealers and Okpara, much maligned for their shooting from the field of late, both surpassed 10 points midway through the second half; the duo finished with 17 and 13 points respectively. Gealers found his form from deep, while Okpara was surging to the basket again and again and looked to have rediscovered much of the confidence he started the season with.
“[Benny] had struggled the last couple games,” Smith said. “[I told him] to just get his swagger back.”
Ultimately, though, it was not enough as Stanford was outclassed in the second half.
“They humbled us,” Smith assessed.
Stanford has a chance to snap its two-game skid and begin to rebuild its early season momentum when it hosts Utah Valley on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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