After a sluggish start, Stanford men’s basketball (2-0, 0-0 ACC) found its footing behind a strong performance from its transfers, pulling away from Oakland University (0-2, 0-0 Horizon) for an 81-63 victory Friday evening. The Cardinal improved to 2-0 on the season, with fifth-year forward Nick Townsend and junior guard Christian Bliss helping lead the way.
The Cardinal started off slow, missing three three-pointers and falling behind 11-7. However, a defensive rebound by Bliss and a jumper by Townsend spurred the team into action, and the Card jumped ahead 17-13 with 11:39 left in regulation.
Oakland made two layups to tie the game, but after a layup by junior center Austin Maurer and six consecutive points from Bliss, Stanford never looked back. Oakland attempted another comeback, scoring thirteen points in the last five minutes, but Stanford, led by Townsend, answered back, finishing the half with a score of 38-33.
The first half’s lead was powered by Townsend, who saw six rebounds and four assists in addition to his 11 points from the field. The former Ivy League Player of the Year comes to Stanford this year from Yale, where he averaged 7.1 and 7.4 rebounds per game in his junior and senior years. With fellow transfer Bliss, the pair put up eleven total rebounds in the first half alone.
“You put him everywhere. Low post, high post, up top,” said head coach Kyle Smith after the game regarding Townsend’s versatility. “He’s really got a great feel, [he’s a] great decision-maker, good leader.”
Stanford had a slow start to the second half as well, with Oakland getting within a point of tying the game. However, three three-pointers by Bliss, Townsend and freshman guard Isaiah Rogers put Stanford back in a healthy lead of 49-41. Through the whole night, Bliss went 4-5 on three-point attempts, his highest career conversion rate on games with over two attempts.
Freshman guard Julius Price, coming off a strong game against Eastern Washington (0-2, 0-0 Big Sky), was not able to replicate the raw scoring from Monday but produced eight points and five rebounds.
Unusually, between 6:16 minutes and 4 minutes left on the clock, the only points Stanford scored were through free throws. The Card made seven free throws in eight attempts in this period, with senior forward Aidan Cammann going two-for-two and Townsend going five-for-six.
The Card closed out the game on a layup by junior forward Evan Stinson, who took his opportunity off the bench to score his first points of the season. Stanford beat Oakland by 18 points in a game with contributions up and down the roster.
Smith also extolled the strengths of the new-look team, half of which is made up of freshmen and new transfers. “I thought that was our best team effort,” said Smith. “We’re trying to form an identity; we’ve gone through the discovery phase… It felt like we were locked into our roles.”
Smith emphasized an expanded focus on reducing turnovers and fouling in addition to the win; both Maurer and Cammann fouled out by the game’s end, and the Cardinal side turned over the ball seven times in the first half.
“With this young team, I haven’t worked this hard since I was assistant at St. Mary’s,” he said. “[I’m] trying to get them right.”
Men’s basketball returns to Maples Pavilion to play Rice (1-1, 0-0 AAC) at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9.