Stanford, CA - Senior forward Landry Fields scored 25 points as the Stanford Cardinal broke open the game in the second half, beating Portland State, 83-64, at Maples Pavilion.
PSU had it tied in the closing seconds of the first half, but Stanford ran away in the second half, raising its record to 4-3 this season. PSU fell to 1-4.
The game opened at a fast pace with the teams trading baskets. Stanford took charge four minutes into the contest with high-percentage shooting and the Vikings trailed by 14 at one point.
Stanford made 11 of its first 17 shots for a 27-13 lead nine minutes in. Fields had 10 points at that juncture.
Three straight three-pointers from
Dominic Waters,
Dane Johnson and
Paul Guede kept the Vikings in touch. Then, a
Jamie Jones layup made it 11 straight points for the Vikings. It was 27-24 with 5:58 to play in the half.
Jones finally tied the game 36-36 at the 1:26 mark on a hook in the lane. It was tied 38-38 late in the half but Stanford scored five points in the final four seconds on two free throws and a three-pointer at the buzzer following a technical foul.
Portland State fell back on an old friend in the first half - three-point shooting. The Vikings hit 15-23 from the field, including 8-13 from three-point range. But PSU did not shoot a free throw and commited 10 turnovers, including three in the final two minutes of the half when they had a chance to take a lead.
The Vikings’ stellar shooting did not continue in the second half as they made just five of their first 17 attempts. An 8-0 run put Stanford up 63-49 with 13:17 to play in the game. That left PSU battling uphill the rest of the way.
The Cardinal held that lead most of the half. A three-pointer by Jeremy Green at the 5:58 mark gave Stanford a 75-58 lead and PSU was done.
The final 19-point margin was Stanford’s biggest advantage.
Jamie Jones led PSU with 16 points, hitting 7-10 from the field and 2-2 at the line. Waters also led with 16 points, hitting 6-9 from the field and 4-5 from three-point range, while handing out six assists. Nelson added 13 points.
PSU made 26-52 from the field for a .500 percentage. But, Stanford was 33-56 for .589 from the field.
Field scored 25 on 10-17 from the field and 4-5 from the line. Green posted 19 points and hit 5-8 from three-point range.
GAME NOTES: SR F
Jamie Jones made his first seven shots in the game... SR F
Julius Thomas led the Vikings with a season-high 10 rebounds... Stanford was the fourth Viking opponent in five games that won at least 20 games in 2008-09... PSU is now 4-42 all-time against Pac-10 teams, including 0-2 this season... Portland State returns to Portland for a Wednesday game. The Vikings will play at red-hot University of Portland. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at the Chiles Center.
Photo Credit: Ryan Borde
