CardinalSportsReport – Recap: Stanford MBB outperforms Oregon at Maples

On Saturday, Stanford men’s basketball defeated Oregon 71-64 at home. Stanford senior forward Spencer Jones led the way for the Cardinal with 16 points and 6 rebounds while sophomore forward Harrison Ingram (11 points, 8 rebounds, & 5 assists) and grad transfer guard Michael Jones (10 points & 5 rebounds) also scored in double figures. Oregon redshirt senior guard Jermaine Couisnard was the top performer for the Ducks with 18 points and 4 assists. Stanford improves to 7-12 overall and 2-7 in the Pac-12 while Oregon falls to 11-9 overall and 5-4 in the Pac-12.

“Yeah number one is I’m excited for our guys,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said after the game. “You know we’ve had some tough times and to have a couple games here at home and have a homestand and get two wins is a big deal for us. I thought our guys played loose and confident. Extremely steady even when things weren’t going well we weren’t, didn’t change our demeanor too much and did it in just the right way. I thought when any run was made back at us we maintained a good demeanor.

“I thought defensively our guys executed the game plan really well. I think most of the shots were challenged. For the most part we fought on the boards. Thought we could have done that just a bit better and then offensively I love the idea of sharing the basketball, moving it to the open guy, and then the guys were shooting the basketball; were doing it with a great deal of confidence.”

With 13:29 to go in the first half, Stanford led 15-8. Harrison Ingram was off to a strong start for the Cardinal with 6 points on 2-2 shooting from 3-point range. Stanford was shooting 6-9 from the field while Oregon was shooting 3-10. Stanford would stay in front 20-14 with 11:32 to go in the half. Max Murrell had a bucket inside while Michael Jones had a triple. Stanford needed to defend the perimeter better as Oregon was shooting 4-9 from deep.

With 7:52 to go in the half, it was now a 25-21 lead for the Cardinal. Stanford was shooting 10-14 from the field, 4-5 from 3-point range, and 1-3 from the foul line. Oregon was shooting 8-17 from the field, 5-11 from 3-point range, and yet to take a free throw. Spencer Jones was up to 5 points for the Cardinal while Isa Silva had a nice layup inside. Keshawn Barthelemy was leading the Ducks with 8 points.

With 3:11 to go in the half, Stanford was up 37-33. Brandon Angel was up to 7 points for the Cardinal after a pretty spin move and 3-pointer. Spencer Jones now had 8 points. Stanford was staying in front, but Oregon was keeping within striking distance.

At halftime, Stanford led 42-37. Oregon continued to keep the game close, but to Stanford’s credit, they didn’t allow the Ducks to overtake them before they entered the locker room for the 15 minute break.

Stanford got off to a strong start in the second half, leading 52-43 with 14:28 to go. Spencer Jones was up to 12 points as he was really working the Ducks inside, getting his jump hooks to fall. Ingram was up to 9 points after a nice 3-pointer. Stanford was starting to gain more separation.

“I think just the confidence from my teammates,” Ingram said of the key to his 3-pointers falling. “I mean, I’ve been struggling a little bit this season. They tell me to keep shooting, stay aggressive, and knowing they got my back. Knowing the coaches trust in me. I gotta let it go, let it go.”

Stanford would then go up by double digits, 57-46 with 12:14 to go. Murrell was up to 7 points after making a 3-pointer for the Cardinal. Stanford was shooting 9-18 from 3-point range while Oregon was shooting 7-20.

With 8:46 to go, Stanford continued to lead by double digits, up 59-47. Stanford got a fluky break on an Oregon turnover and while Spencer Jones was unable to finish, Michael O’Connell was there for the finish. It was a clean-up on aisle 5 situation.

Stanford continued to lead 61-49 Stanford with 3:17 to go. Spencer Jones had another jump hook fall. He continued to be on a roll with those.

“For me it’s just being aggressive using my strength,” Jones said of the key to those hook shots. “I mean, you know guys who usually have a little bit of inches on me are usually stronger, have a stronger base than I do so it’s just you know, keeping that strong base, using my shoulder to you know, keep it distance from so the long arms can’t block it. That’s pretty much it.”

In the end, Stanford walked out with a 71-64 victory. Oregon was able to cut it to single digits, but not make…