Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) dribbles against Stanford Cardinal guard Benny Gealer (5) during the first half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Justine Willard-Imagn Images | Justine Willard-Imagn Images

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (12-3, 1-1 ACC) garnered their first conference win, after an 80-76 victory over the Louisville Cardinals (11-3, 1-1 ACC) in a pleasant atmosphere on the Farm.

Stanford started the game off with a 4-0 run.  Louisville followed that with a 5-0 run of their own.  The Cardinal equaled that amount on their second points burst..  They were in the lead for 16:23 of the first 20 minutes of the game and half, while the Cardinals were on top for 1:48, while they were tied twice for 1:49.

The Cardinal shot a whole lot better in the first half, compared to their previous conference game.  They managed to shoot 46% from both the field and beyond the arc.  Although they shot a mediocre 56% from the charity stripe.  Stanford’s defense forced Louisville into an abysmal 38% from 2, and 19% from 3.  Their 78% from the free throw line helped keep them close at recess.

Another different scenario for the Cardinal was from their leading scorer Ebuke Okorie,  The freshman sensation had a total of two points at the half in the previous game.  In his second conference game, he garnered  14 points in the initial 20-minute half.  That doubled his total amount in the other game.

After all of that action, Stanford was ahead by one at halftime, 35-34.  Stanford had one player in double-figures, and that was the aforementioned Okorie (14).  Louisville’s Sananda Fru was close, with 9 points and 5 rebounds at the midway point of the competitive game.

The second half had an immediate lead change, as Louisville entered the second half down one, but went up two on a 3-point shot by senior guard Isaac McKneely, 16 seconds into the second stanza.  That would be the fifth of 18 lead changes in the back and forth conference clash.

Both teams shot better in the second half, and made significant runs to race in front of each other.  Although there were nearly 20 lead changes, Stanford held the advantage for more than three times as many minutes of gameplay.

The game was a “nail-biter” in the final minutes, as it could have gone either way.  However, the Cardinal made the correct plays and converted the free throws to seal the deal at the end of 40 regulation minutes of action.  Stanford prevailed, and won the game by four, 80-76.

Two Cardinal teammates joined Okorie (28) in double-digit scoring.  Chisom Okpara tallied 17 points and 8 rebounds and Ryan Agarwal contributed 12 points to the team’s total.

Four Louisville hoopers reached that plateau for the visitors from the Blue Grass State.  Ryan Conwell led them with 18 points and7 rebounds, Isaac McKneely (17) Sananda Fru chipped in 15 points and 8 rebounds, and J’Vonne Hadley offered 14 points and 7 rebounds.

The Cardinal will next be in action Wednesday, January 7, as they travel across  the Continental US to Blacksburg to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies at $ PM PT & & PM local time on the ACC NETWORK.  The Cardinals head back to Kentucky Tuesday, January 6, to host the Duke Blue Devils at 7 PM ET on ESPN.