STANFORD, Calif. - Junior guard Marcus Allen tallied a game-high 18 points in his season debut, but the Cardinal dropped an 85-70 decision to visiting SMU, Thursday.
Stanford (2-1) shot 45.8 percent from the field, but gave up 46 points in the paint and 21 off turnovers.
Senior Rosco Allen totaled 14 points, including 3-for-5 from three-point range. Reid Travis pitched in with 12 points and six rebounds, while Michael Humphrey finished with 10 points and six boards.
“We're looking to build,” Marcus Allen said. “I'm looking forward to practice.”
SMU, which reached the second round of last year's NCAA tournament, scored 17 points on 10 Stanford turnovers in the first half while turning the ball over twice. The Mustangs had a 21-9 advantage overall.
The Mustangs shot nearly 56 percent for the game. Nic Moore and Ben Moore each had 17 points to lead the Mustangs (2-0), which shot 55.7 percent from the field.
Stanford heads across the Bay to Moraga, Calif. to face Saint Mary's in its first road contest of the season. The Cardinal and Gaels will square off at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22.
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Johnny Dawkins:
“I give SMU a lot of credit. They’re a good basketball team. I thought they executed very well. They out-executed us and I thought they made a lot of big-time basketball plays tonight on both ends of the floor – whether defensive stops and, of course, offensively.”
“Nic Moore – one of the best guards out there I think we face this year and he’s one of the best guards in the country. He showed a lot of poise and maturity.”
“We just couldn’t get enough stops. Partly they executed well and partly we have to get better defensively. We won’t go out and defend like we did tonight. That’s unacceptable. We have to defend better.”
“I’m happy to have him (Marcus Allen) back. He’s our best perimeter player and I think he showed again why tonight. He came in after being in that lay-off and still was very productive for us.”
Marcus Allen:
“It’s good to just be on the court with all my teammates. We’re going to build. I’m looking forward to practice.”
“We look forward to all of our games. The goal is always to win so we’ll prepare to the best of our ability and come out with a new mindset. I think everyone’s excited to get after it again after this.”
Rosco Allen:
“Whenever teams go on runs like that, I don’t know how many straight points they had or what that run was, but I know we have to learn as a team to buckle up and try to stop the bleeding. We just let it go on too long and we didn’t really change around until too late. We started fighting back, but it just wasn’t enough.”
Tim Jankovich:
“Nic (Moore) has had an incredible career and he’s one of the great clutch-type players I’ve been around.”
“Our freshmen – I had so much confidence in them, I couldn’t even take them out. They rarely made a mistake at either end. Their decisions on offense, for the most part, were great. Their defensive positioning was outstanding. They’re beyond their years in understanding and poise.”
