The Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) and the Arizona Sun Devils forward Alonzo Gaffney (8) anticipate the rebound in the second half at Maple Pavilion in Palo Alto on Fri Dec 29, 2023 (AP News photo)
By Michael Roberson
STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (5-6, 0-1 Pac-12) opened Pacific – 12 play with a disappointing loss inside Maples Pavilion, after the Arizona State Sun Devils (7-5, 1-0 Pac-12), made a blazing comeback inside the last minute of the game, 76-73.
Stanford’s 7-foot Frenchman, Maxime Raynaud opened the game with a basket on a dime of a pass from assist machine Jared Bynum. He scored six of the team’s first eight points, The Cardinal seemed to take control early in the contest.
The Sun Devils managed to tie the game twice (2-2 & 22-22) during the initial 20 minutes of the game; however, they could not get over the hump/stump. Stanford had an answer for both tie situations, including a 10-0 run after it was even at 22. The home team had a nine point advantage at recess, 37-28, with the knowledge that ASU was not going to give up on the cause.
Neither team had a double-digit scorer at the midway point. As a matter of fact, despite the great start by Raynaud, he only managed to score one more point by the midway whistle. He tallied seven points and six rebounds. Brandon Angel led with nine, and Kanaan Carlyle contributed seven off the bench. Junior guard Frankie Collins topped the Sun Devils.
In the second half, Arizona State tried to turn up the heat, but the tree seemed to be fire retardant for most of the greater part of the game. They managed to keep the game in reach, and forcing 13 turnovers and shooting double the amount of free throws of their opponent, was definitely a contributing factor for the dramatic outcome.
Stanford reached leads of ten in the first half and 12 in the second, but Arizona State kept up the fight. Maybe their coach’s personality was rubbing off on them. Bobby Hurley was a feisty point guard for the Duke Blue Devils in the 90’s, winning two national championships.
The Sun Devils scored 48 points in the second half, which was 20 more than the first, while Stanford had one less point. That made a huge difference and made it a close contest at the end. The last three minutes is when it became crunch time.
Just under the 3:00 mark, the Sun Devils got within one point for the first time since the first half. Alonzo Gaffney was on a roll scoring seven consecutive points in nearly 90 seconds. Coach Hurley was impressed: “I’m happy for him because I know he has it inside of him to do it. We trust him.”
Less than a minute later they tied the game again twice, at 71 and 73. After 39 minutes of the battle, Arizona took the lead on a fadeaway jumper by Frankie Collins, which turned out to be the game winner. After that Jamia Neal made a free throw and got the game-sealing block, when Michael Jones tried to tie the game and force overtime.
When all the smoke cleared, the Arizona State Sun Devils remained lit, while Cardinal had ashes surrounding them at home. ASU by three, 76-73!
The Cardinal had four players in double-digit scoring. Angel and Raynaud both 15, but Maxime added 15 rebounds to his total. Bynum and Carlyle both had 12; however, Jerod gave 6 assists and grabbed 5 rebounds.
Arizona State also had four 10+ point scorers: Gaffney (12), Collins (12), Adam Miller (13) and Kamari Lands (13).
The Cardinal will next be in action New Year’s Eve Sunday, hosting the #4 Arizona Wildcats at 1 PM PDT, while Arizona State will go across the Bay on the same date to play Cal, at 5 PM PDT.
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