On Thursday, Stanford men’s basketball fell to Arizona State at home by a final score of 69-65. Arizona State guard D.J. Horne led the way for the Sun Devils with 18 points and 6 rebounds while guards Frankie Collins (15 points) and Desmond Cambridge, Jr. (13 points) also scored in double figures. Stanford forward Spencer Jones was the top scorer for the Cardinal with 17 points and 5 rebounds while forwards Brandon Angel (13 points) and Harrison Ingram (12 points) also scored in double figures. Arizona State improves to 17-8 overall and 8-6 in the Pac-12 while Stanford falls to 10-14 overall and 4-9 in the Pac-12.
Video: Stanford MBB Postgame Press Conference | Arizona State
“Obviously highly disappointed,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said after the game. “I thought our game plan was solid, I thought the intent from the guys was good. It was a game of runs, lots of ebbs and flows, which was to be expected when you play Arizona State. They’re very talented and I thought we responded when we were down and they responded when they got down as well.
“For the most part, I thought we could have been a little bit stronger with the basketball, stronger with our rebounds, stronger finishing, maybe a little bit more fundamental in some of those ways. I think we were I think foul, the foul situation could have been a net positive for us, but it wasn’t. In terms of the fouls, it did hurt us when Spencer got his second in the first half. I thought we were rolling pretty good and not having him out there because he had a heck of a game and he’s a heck of a player. I think that did hurt us. We’ll have a quick turnaround and see if we can do better on Saturday.”
Stanford got out to an 11-6 lead with 15:42 to go in the first half. Brandon Angel was off to a hot start with 8 points on 3-4 shooting from the field and 2-3 shooting from 3-point range. Spencer Jones had a triple of his own.
Stanford would continue to stay in front up 16-8 with 12:00 to go in the half. Ingram had a nice 3-point play inside. Stanford was shooting 3-6 from 3-point range, getting good looks from the perimeter.
With 6:40 to go in the half, Stanford led 21-19 as Arizona State was starting to come back. Isa Silva hit a huge 3-pointer for Stanford to give them some life offensively. Collins was up to 6 points for Arizona State.
Arizona State would then take the lead to go up 29-28 with 2:01 to go in the half. Max Murrell was up to 5 points for the Cardinal after a nice dunk inside and a triple. Spencer Jones had two fouls. Stanford was trying to weather the storm with him on the bench.
At halftime, it was tied 33-33. Angel was up to 10 points after getting a huge layup inside to beat the buzzer. Stanford was going into halftime with a bit of momentum. Horne was leading Arizona State with 10 points. This one was tight.
Stanford started the second half on a 9-0 run to lead 42-33 with 17:22 to go after a slam inside from Maxime Raynaud. Ingram was up to 9 points.
With 15:56 to go, Stanford led 48-37. Angel was up to 13 points after a nice 3-point play while Ingram had 12 points after a contested three. Things were continuing to go the Cardinal’s way.
Things would then get a bit sloppy as Stanford now found themselves up by just six points (52-46) with 11:19 to go. Stanford had three turnovers in the last 1:59. Collins was leading Arizona State with 15 points.
“Yeah, they gamble,” Haase said of the Sun Devils’ defense. “They’re gonna try and go for steals. Be aggressive with their hands. Try and rip the ball out, try and bump ya to get defensive position to deny passes and be very very aggressive and I thought they did that very effectively and they were rewarded for it.”
With 9:04 to go, Stanford led 58-52. Spencer Jones was up to 12 points after back-to-back threes. Those were much needed.
Stanford would then find themselves up by just three points (58-55) with 6:58 to go. Stanford had 0 points in the last 2:25. They needed a bucket soon to end the dry spell. As a whole, the 3-ball was falling for the Cardinal as they were 11-24 from deep.
Stanford would then go on a bit of a run to lead 63-55 with 5:32 to go. Spencer Jones was up to 15 points on 5-6 shooting from 3-point range. He had been huge.
“I was just looking for my shot,” Jones said. “I mean you know, I was happy to have that second half because I was pretty disappointed. First half I had too many easy looks, easy finishes should have gone down and would have put our team in a better position, but at that point it was just letting it fly.”
With 3:43 to go, Stanford led 65-61. Spencer Jones was up to 17 points after finally making a pair of free throws. He was now 2-5 at the foul line.
From there, Arizona State would end the game on an 8-0 run to win 69-65. Desmond Cambridge, Jr. and DJ Horne made back-to-back threes to give Arizona State a 67-65 lead with 1:50 to go and with 8 seconds to go, Horne iced the game away at the foul line after Stanford was unable to answer.
“I don’t know that there was a point where we lost it, but in the second half, we weren’t able to play through contact efficiently,” Haase said. “Turnovers were more of a problem in the second half, which led to easy baskets for them and we were a little discombobulated offensively with their pressure. We weren’t able to face the fire effectively and I think our offensive efficiency in the second half wasn’t what I want it to be.”
For Arizona State, this is a nice win. Stanford is a tougher team to beat than their record indicates and they were coming in with some momentum having won five of their last six games. For Arizona State to rally like they did and end the game on an 8-0 run is impressive. The threes at the end by Cambridge, Jr. and Horne were really superb. Especially the one by Cambridge, Jr. as that was off a turnover and taken quickly in the shot clock. He just dribbled the ball down the floor and made it in transition. That’s as tough of a shot as it gets.
For Stanford, this loss really stings. They were hoping to come back home and get a win to get back to their recent winning ways and instead they came unglued at the end of the game. Stanford is now 0-6 in games decided by five points or less. That is not a good stat. They have to find ways to win close games and not fall apart in crunch time.
“I need to coach better,” Haase admitted. “I need to give us plays to be able to execute down the stretch. As a group, as a team, we need to make the plays and get the stops as well. Need to knock our free throws in whether it’s a one and one or a two-shot foul. Need to secure the boards. Obviously, there’s a not one specific thing, that’s six different games and that kind of thing, but I need to do a better job of coaching us down the stretch and getting the win.”
Up next for Stanford is a home game on Saturday against #4 Arizona. That will tip-off at 5:00 PM PT on ESPN2.
“Yeah, our team has been phenomenal this year in terms of being steady, coming to practice prepared,” Haase said. “We’ve had very few for the season, highs and lows of not being mentally locked in. Certainly, I would think that they’ll be excited for Arizona to come in and play good basketball. But I think at this point, if history tells me anything, our guys will be ready to battle tomorrow, execute the game plan, learn from this past game.”
To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
To connect with Ben Parker on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com
