Men’s basketball erupts in second half over Oregon State

A drastically improved second half display saw the Stanford men’s basketball team (18-9, 9-6 Pac-12) complete a massive 75-48 victory against Oregon State (17-11, 8-8 Pac-12) at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal played some of the best basketball they have played all season, and Stanford’s playoff dreams are far from over.

Fifth-year senior forward Anthony Brown (left) helped lead the Card to a much-needed win against Oregon State. Brown notched 13 points and 8 rebounds. (LAUREN DYER/The Stanford Daily)

The Card started slowly, shooting only 29 percent from the field in the first half. Oregon State was able to capitalize on Stanford’s shooting woes, building up a nine-point lead through some quick fast breaks and some important 3-pointers. A late push from Stanford ended with a 3-pointer from Marcus Allen in the dying seconds of the first half to decrease the deficit to two.

However, it was a completely different story in the second half as the Cardinal ran riot to build up an insuperable lead. An incredibly strong half from freshman forward Michael Humphrey saw him end the game with 14 points and 15 rebounds, marking his second double-double in a row. Stanford outscored Oregon State 47-18 in the second half.

Following the game, Humphrey attributed his string of powerful performances to the work the team was doing in practice.

“I think it’s playing against guys like Reid [Travis] and Stef[an Nastic] and Elliot [Bullock] in practice and working with all the coaches,” he said. “The work we’re doing in practice is really paying off in the games.”

With junior forward Rosco Allen still out, Dawkins has turned to the two freshman forwards, Humphrey and Reid Travis, to fill his shoes, and they have come in to make a powerful impact over these last few games. Travis ended the night with 9 points and 4 rebounds off of the bench after seeing some increased playing time with Stefan Nastic in foul trouble throughout the game.

Senior guard Chasson Randle managed 15 points in a game that saw him surpass Gary Payton in the all-time Pac-12 scoring list. Randle scored a layup while being fouled to send him into sixth place in the all-time charts.

While Randle was surpassing one Gary Payton in the scoring charts, his son was leading Oregon State in scoring. Gary Payton II scored 17 and was a constant threat in the game. Payton managed 4 assists, 3 steals and a block to show how strong he was all over the court.

Dawkins was more than satisfied with the team’s performance as a whole. He claimed that the second half the Cardinal played tonight was the best he has seen all season. If the team can stay hungry, this season is far from over.

The Card will be back at Maples on Sunday night when it takes on Oregon at 4 p.m.

Contact Jack Seaton at jrseaton ‘at’ stanford.edu.