STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Maxime Raynaud scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half as Stanford overcame a nine-minute first-half scoring drought to edge Virginia Tech 70-59 in the first Atlantic Coast Conference contest played at Maples Pavilion Wednesday night.
Jaylen Blakes’ jumper with two minutes gone by gave the Cardinal a 4-2 lead, but they did not score again for nine minutes and trailed 16-6. Stanford didn’t break into double-figures until Oziyah Sellers’ three-point play with 6:22 left got the Cardinal within 19-12, and his two 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the half made it 30-25 at intermission.
Raynaud hit back-to-back 3s in the first two minutes of the second half to get Stanford (10-5, 2-2 ACC) within one, 34-33, and his layup at the 15:15 mark put the Cardinal in front, 39-38. He made three 3s and scored 13 of his points in the final 20 minutes.
Raynaud was 8 of 17 from the field, hitting 3 of 7 from distance, and snared 14 rebounds to post his 12th double-double. Sellers hit 4 of 7 from deep and finished with 19 points, and Blakes converted 10 of 12 from the free throw line to contribute 17. Stanford hit 13 of 26 from the field after intermission, including 6 of 13 from beyond the arc.
Ben Burnham hit 4 of 5 from behind the arc to lead Virginia Tech (6-9, 1-3) with 18 points. Tobi Lowal added 15 points and Mylyjael Poteat added 12 for the Hokies.
The game was the first meeting between schools since the Las Vegas Shootout in 2005.
Stanford plays host to Virginia Saturday. Virginia Tech travels to face California Saturday.
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