Stanford overcomes sluggish begin to bury Utah Valley

Jaylen Blakes scored 18 points and Oziyah Sellers added 15 to lead host Stanford to a 77-63 victory over Utah Valley on Tuesday night.

Maxime Raynaud chipped in 14 points and 17 rebounds to help the Cardinal snap a two-game losing streak. Stanford (7-2) shot 48 percent overall but went just 5 of 20 from 3-point range.

Dominick Nelson led Utah Valley with 22 points and added seven rebounds. Tanner Toolson chipped in 11 points and eight boards. The Wolverines (4-4) lost their third straight game, shooting just 37 percent.

The two teams combined for 25 turnovers.

Sparked by back-to-back baskets from Nelson, Utah Valley raced out to a quick 12-6 lead. The Cardinal weathered that hot start and surged ahead as the half progressed.

Blakes made a layup to spark a 7-0 run that gave Stanford a 28-19 lead with 6:57 left before halftime.

Staying in front proved challenging. The Cardinal went nearly five minutes without a basket, missing five straight shots. Toolson capped a 7-0 Wolverine run that cut Stanford’s lead to a basket.

Utah Valley went cold before fully erasing the deficit. The Wolverines missed five straight shots and did not score over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the half. It opened a door for the Cardinal to build their largest first-half lead. Raynaud capped a 10-0 run with back-to-back baskets in the final minute, giving Stanford a 38-26 lead going into the locker room.

Stanford did not take the foot off the gas pedal after halftime. The Cardinal opened the second half on a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 47-28. Blakes punctuated the run with a 3-pointer – the third Stanford basket over three straight possessions.

Utah Valley cut the deficit to 63-53 on a dunk from Carter Welling with 7:18 left. The Wolverines couldn’t pull any closer, going scoreless over a four-minute stretch.

–Field Level Media