Oregon State Beavers guard Jordan Pope (0) drives on the Stanford Cardinal forward Brandon Angel (23) in second half action at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — Senior Spencer Jones is the team’s #1 three point shooter (306) in school history, as he and his Stanford Cardinal (13-14, 8-9 Pac-12) surprisingly fell to the industrious Oregon State Beavers (11-17, 3-14 Pac-12), 85-73, on a warm Saturday Afternoon on the Farm.

The visitors opened the scoring of the game with a Three on the Stanford bench’s side of the court. That 3-0 lead didn’t last too long, as the Cardinal went on a 9-0 run, to put them up by six. During that stint, Stanford hit three treys. Including two by Spencer Jones, which made him the All-Time leader beyond the Arc. Maxime Raynaud hit the third basket.

Jones passed former Cardinal great Chasson Randle with the 305th triple of his career. He added another (306) before recess, and had 11 points at the half. Raynaud added 19 to the Cardinal tally.

However, after the Stanford offensive run, the Beavers performed their own 13-0 run over a 7 1/2 minute timeframe to lead by seven (18-11). OSU led by as much as nine points, and made several more runs, when Stanford tried to tie the game and/or take the lead.

As the first half ended, the Beavers maintained a 6-point lead, 38-32. They were led in scoring by sophomore guard Jordan Pope (17). OSU also outrebounded the home team 22 to 9, and shot 52% from the field, compared to Stanford’s 41% floor shooting.

After intermission, Oregon State scored an immediate five in a row, taking a double-digit lead. They reached the height of 12 points multiple times, and had a 13-0 run in the second half. Despite those exhornant leads, Stanford continued to fight back.

The Cardinal committed a 14-point run on their behalf, not only tying the contest, but actually taking the lead on a Brandon Angel three, putting his squad up 50-47 (12:30) midway through the half. They would go back and forth over the next several minutes of play. At the tune of two lead changes and 3 ties. The first half was 2:2 for ties and lead changes.

With all the action going on inside Maples, the rebounding disparity (39/22) and missed free throws (8) eventually caught up with Stanford. The Beavers shot 53% overall for the game, while the Cardinal settled for 46%.

The Man of the Hour, Spencer Jones, had a troubling second half. He only added 2 points to his halftime total, and fouled out at the 4:25 mark of the game. He verbalized his disappointment of the loss, and will acknowledge the magnitude of his feat later on in the season.

At the final horn, the Beavers had caused major wood damage on the Palo Alto campus, upsetting the Cardinal by 12 points, 85-73.

Three players for Stanford reached the 10+ points plateau: Raynaud (29) & 8 rebounds, Brandon Angel (15) & 6 rebounds, and the aforementioned Spencer Jones (13).

OSU produced four ballers with double-digit scoring. Jordan Pope (30), Tyler Bilodeau (18), Michael Rataj (22) & 10 rebounds, and Dexter Akanno (11) & 7 rebounds.

The Cardinal will next be in action in Salt Lake City, as they take on the Utah Utes, Thursday, February 29 (Leap Day) at 5:30 PM MST on the Pac-12 Network. Oregon State returns to the Beaver State, but in Eugene to battle their fellow inhabitant Oregon Ducks, Wednesday, February 28 at 8 PM PDT.