Stanford Cardinal guard Jared Bynum (1) dribbles against Sacramento State at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Fri Nov 10, 2023 (photo from gostanford.com)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal’s (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12) bark was too thick for the swarming Sacramento State Hornets (0-2, 0-0 Big West) 91-73, also preventing them from building a nest inside Maples.

The flying bugs from the California state capital actually scored the first basket of the game, and led twice early. However, the home team was determined to keep them from being in front the rest of the first half.

During the Hornets’ brief lead, they also went on a 7-0 run, but that was subdued by the Cardinal’s 10-0 run. Both teams were perfect from the charity stripe; however, that was a miniscule 4-4. Sac State made 3, while Stanford made the other.free throw.

Stanford Senior forward Spencer Jones got his shooting stroke in motion, after making 0 field goals in the last game. He made two jumpers from beyond the arc, and managed to tally10 points in the first half.

Jones wasn’t the only Cardinal player to reach double-figures in scoring. Fellow senior forward Brandon Angel chipped in 10 points himself within the first 20 minutes of the contest.

Sacramento State was led by junior guard Zee Hamoda (16) as he made four 3s and his senior teammate Brandon Betson (8) drilled two from beyond the line.

Even though the Hornets outrebounded the Cardinal and made more threes, Stanford shot 55% from the field and led by as much as 10 points in the half. They settled for an eight point advantage at intermission, 47-39.

In the second half Stanford’s lead got as large as 19 points. Although the Hornets kept in buzzing distance for a brief time in the final half, the Cardinal was fairly in control of the Northern California battle.

Jones added five more points to his total, but left the game with an apparent ailment. HC Jerod Haase said that his 16+ minutes limitation was for precautionary reasons and possible injury status was undetermined at press time.

Projected Freshman Sensation Andrej Stojakovic, son of former NBA star Peja, had a breakout game in game two of his college career. He garnered 12 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in just under 26 minutes of play. He also shot over 50% from the floor.

Brandon Angel added eight points (18) to his halftime total and junior forward Maxime Raynaud scored 14 points, 7 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

Sacramento State was led in scoring by Hamoda (21) and Betson (17). They also had two other players eclipse double-digits, Duncan Powell (14) and Bowyn Beatty (10)

At the final horn, the Cardinal was on top by 18 points, 91-73. Stanford stayed consistent in the second half, by remaining perfect (5-5) from the free throw line and shooting just under 56% from the field for the whole game.

Stanford will next be in action Tuesday, November 14 at Maples hosting the Santa Clara Broncos at 6 pm PDT. Sac State heads back to the capital city to host Pacific Union on the same date at 6:30 pm PDT.

Note: Graduate transfer Jerod Bynum has recorded 17 assists and 1 turnover (17:1) in his two games as a Cardinal hooper.

He also explained that he always wanted to be a Stanford player, but it didn’t work out until now. In addition, he is excited to be a part of the last year of the Pac – 12.

Coach Haas does not think his win against Sac State will provide a sense of redemption for his fellow head coach (Troy Taylor) of the football team of whom suffered an upset loss to them (Former Team) earlier in the school year.