On Saturday, Stanford men’s basketball defeated Arizona State 79-76 at Maples Pavilion. Stanford sophomore guard Michael O’Connell (16 points) and sophomore forward Brandon Angel (16 points & 6 rebounds) led the way for the Cardinal while Arizona State sophomore guard DJ Horne (18 points) and junior forward Jalen Graham (16 points & 6 rebounds) were the top performers for the Sun Devils. Stanford improves to 11-6 overall and 4-3 in the Pac-12 while Arizona State falls to 6-10 overall and 2-4 in the Pac-12.

“Conference wins are hard to come by and we realize that and we’re certainly excited to get that one,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said after the game. “Lot of credit to Arizona State for fighting back. We had a good stretch at the end of the half, we built the lead up a little bit, and their pressure certainly bothered us and it has been a recurring theme where pressure and turnovers. But I’m going to do a better job coaching and give our guys solutions and we’re going to try to get better with that.

“Free throw shooting, it was crucial to say the least. James Keefe going six of six down the stretch was really impactful and I’m proud of him because of how much work he’s put into it since he’s been here. And the guys believed we could get it done. We were able to do it and it obviously was not pretty, but at the end of the day we found a way.”

Stanford got out to a 10-8 lead with 15:12 to go in the first half. Michael O’Connell, Jaiden Delaire, and Harrison Ingram each had 3 points for Stanford. DJ Horne was up to 6 points for Arizona State, getting in a nice groove early.

The game continued to remain tight as Arizona State led 17-15 with 11:36 to go in the half. Freshman 7-footer Maxime Raynaud hit a nice 3-pointer for Stanford while Spencer Jones was also up to 3 points for Stanford. Lots of scoring balance for the Cardinal. Arizona State was shooting 7-15 (46.7%) from the field while Stanford was shooting 4-11 (36.4%).

Stanford would take the lead 25-24 with 6:22 to go in the half. Ingram was up to 8 points on 2-2 shooting from 3-point range and 2-2 shooting from the foul line while O’Connell was up to 6 points on 2-2 shooting from 3-point range. Both guys were in a good offensive flow. As for Arizona State, Horne was up to 11 points, doing his part for the Sun Devils. The game was a battle.

With 3:56 to go in the half, Stanford led 33-28. Stanford was starting to gain a little separation as they were shooting 6-8 from 3-point range. That was really paying dividends for them. With 44.4 to go in the half, Stanford led 39-32 after James Keefe got a nice slam. Stanford just needed to finish the half strong.

At halftime, Stanford led 42-32 after Spencer Jones found Brandon Angel for a huge corner three. Ingram (10 points & 5 rebounds) and O’Connell (8 points) were leading the way for Stanford while Horne (13 points) was leading Arizona State.

“Early in the game their pressure was bothering us,” Haase said when asked what went right in the first half. “As the first half wore on, I thought we were able to make simple, aggressive plays for teammates. And their pressure broke down a little bit.”

Stanford got off to a nice start in the second half, leading 52-39 with 16:20 to go. Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley and DJ Horne both picked up technical fouls while Jaiden Delaire got a technical foul for Stanford. It was kind of interesting to see so many technical fouls in such a short span of time. O’Connell was up to 10 points following a nice jumper to make it a 52-39 lead. Stanford firmly had the momentum now.

To Arizona State’s credit, they didn’t give up. The Sun Devils soon went on an 11-0 run to make it a 56-52 Stanford lead with 11:20 to go. Marreon Jackson was up to 10 points for the Sun Devils after nailing a nice jumper. Out of the time out, Angel was set to go to the foul line for Stanford for a one-and-one. He’d go 2-2 at the line in the stretch, making it a 58-52 lead for Stanford with 11:20 to go.

The game continued to tighten as Stanford led 59-56 with 7:45 to go. Stanford had 0 points in the last 2:03. They really needed a bucket to end the drought. O’Connell was up to 12 points for Stanford. He was certainly doing his part.

“In the second half as they built a little bit of confidence and the pressure got to us they just cranked it up, cranked it up, cranked it up,” Haase said of Arizona State’s second half surge. “And I thought that was the reason they were able to keep getting into it. And so, again, it’s on my shoulders to be able to give the guys a plan to be able to effectively attack it. But I thought they played really hard, our guys got on our heels a little bit, but at the end of the day we did make enough plays.”

Arizona State would soon take the lead to go up 62-61 with 5:00 to go. Jalen Graham’s bucket gave the Sun Devils the lead. After having a huge lead at halftime and actually expanding it to start the second half, Stanford now found themselves behind as their lead had totally evaporated.

With 3:55 to go, it was now a 65-64 Arizona State lead following a 3-pointer from Angel that cut the Sun Devils’ lead to one point. Stanford really needed that to fall as they were down by four points. Stanford was still in the game, but they were on the verge of succumbing to a really disappointing second half collapse.

Thanks to a pretty layup from Michael O’Connell and a clutch tip-in from Harrison Ingram on the second effort, Stanford led 72-69 with 1:58 to go. Now it was just a matter of playing good defense and making free throws.

“Yeah and he was a little banged up,” Haase said of O’Connell’s performance. “He’d never tell anybody and tries not to show it out there. But it was an impressive performance. Especially considering he wasn’t feeling great in terms of just banged up a little bit. But he’s a warrior. Gives some stability out there, which is really important and is a really confident kid and he’s making a lot of plays.”

“They have a lot of pressure all over the court, so that kinda opens up lanes to drive and kick or drive and get my own shot,” O’Connell said of how he was able to attack the Sun Devils’ defense. “So, I think the pressure if it’s over-aggressive sometimes, you can just use it to your advantage and get buckets. And then for myself, getting in the gym at night, having that confidence in myself that I can make shots. My teammates always have my back and always want me to shoot it, so that always helps, too.”

With 1:01 to go, Stanford led 76-74 after Angel knocked down a pair of foul shots. James Keefe also was coming through at the line, making six clutch free throws in a row despite shooting less than 50.0% at the foul line on the year. To have him step up at the foul line was really a game changer for Stanford.

Stanford would still lead 76-74 with 25.7 to go. Stanford called for time with the ball following a travel committed by Arizona State. On the next possession, Stanford would work it inside to Harrison Ingram who got fouled inside. Ingram would miss both of his foul shots and Arizona State got the rebound. With 15.2 to go, the Sun Devils had life.

Jalen Graham would tie it up 76-76 after a nice bucket in the paint. On the returning possession, Brandon Angel would get fouled in the corner attempting a 3-pointer with 1.1 to go in the game. He would make all three fouls shots and with so little time left, Arizona State wasn’t able to get off a good shot, making it a 79-76 victory for Stanford.

“I was confident in him,” Haase said of Angel as he went to the foul line. “I really was. I believed he would knock those in and again free throw shooting we’ve said was a key to the game.”

“That just goes back to all the reps you take in practice in the gym after practice and just have confidence in me,” Angel said of the game winning foul shots. “Shot that a thousand, hundred thousand times in your life and it’s no different there…It was absolutely a foul. I mean I caught the ball, wasn’t enough time left to do anything else but shoot. Maybe a pump fake. But shot it, got fouled.”

At the end of the day, Stanford should feel good to have the win. After the way they got drubbed by Arizona, it was of paramount importance that they win this game and bounce back. And they can check that box off.

“Yeah, it’s a big deal,” Haase said of bouncing back from Thursday’s shellacking. “The truth is this league is really good. Has really good coaches, really good players, and every game is going to be a battle. We realize that, but from a psychological standpoint. Yeah, it’s good. To win a home game, to win a conference game, to continue to build is really important.”

At the same time, they made this game more of an adventure than they needed to. They held a double digit lead with 16 minutes to go and actually gave up the lead before taking it back. Had they taken better care of the ball (18 turnovers) and hit some open looks that they should make, they would have walked out with an 8+ point victory and not had to sweat so much at the end.

“Throughout the season we’ve always kinda had confidence in ourselves,” O’Connell said. “Any moment in the game if we’re up, down, we can always prevail. So I mean we kinda just kept our [composure]. We were confident in each other, there was no [panic], we weren’t thinking oh the game is over or we’re gonna lose, we’re in trouble. It was just, we were smooth and worked out for us.”

All in all, it really was a team effort for Stanford. Harrison Ingram walked out with a double-double (13 points & 10 rebounds), Michael O’Connell hit some key shots and did a great job running the offense, Brandon Angel hit some big shots and iced the game away at the foul line, and James Keefe hit six clutch free throws in a row. Stanford prides themselves on winning with a comprehensive team effort and that’s certainly how they won this game.

“One of our messages is belief in ourselves and in the team,” O’Connell said. “Even like I said before, even when we get down in these tight spots, just belief that we can always prevail and pull through. To have the belief in each other everyone’s going to be there for you and do the right thing. Just like I have belief in this guy, my roommate in knocking down the free throws.”

Up next for Stanford will be a trip to So Cal to face the L.A. schools. Up first will be at USC on Thursday, January 27th. That game will tip-off at 8:00 PM PT on FS1 and Cardinal Sports Network radio.

Note: Stanford sophomore guard Noah Taitz (lower leg) was still out for Stanford and remains day-to-day with no firm timetable for a return. Arizona State sophomore forward Marcus Bagley (knee) was still out and did not make the trip. He appears to be out indefinitely.

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