Stanford men’s basketball suffers first conference home loss, swept by Demon Deacons
Stanford men’s basketball (15-8, 7-5 ACC) entered Wednesday night’s matchup against Wake Forest (17-6, 9-3 ACC) undefeated in conference play at home. The Demon Deacons, however, ended that streak with a 79-73 win, handing the Cardinal its first home conference loss and just its second overall loss at Maples Pavillion this season.
The Demon Deacons complete the season sweep over Stanford with the win, having previously defeated the Cardinal 80-67 at LJVM Coliseum a few weeks ago in a more decisive matchup.
In a game where Stanford was without junior guard Benny Gealer and graduate guard Jaylen Blakes, who is averaging 14.6 points per game this season, the Cardinal was able to match the Demon Deacons shot for shot. The first half was a back-and-forth contest as neither team was able to establish a double-digit lead.
Wake Forest did build the largest lead of the game for either team, at nine points, late in the first half. Their 8-0 run to seize control before halftime was fueled by a scoring drought for the Cardinal that lasted more than three minutes of game play. Wake Forest’s 35-26 lead at the 4:18 mark, however, was slimmed down to 40-37 by halftime after senior forward Maxime Raynaud came to life for Stanford.
Wednesday night’s game was an unconventional performance for Raynaud. The stat sheet indicates his dominance as he led Stanford in all three categories with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, but Raynad’s first field goal of the game did not come until there was 1:41 left in the first half. Raynaud finished with only four made field goals, but seven of his 16 points came at the charity stripe.
With Raynaud having a relatively quiet night on offense, others stepped up on offense, particularly in the second half. Redshirt sophomore forward Ryan Agarwal ended the night with 12 points, including a layup with 3:30 left to give the Cardinal a 67-66 lead. This was the last lead Stanford had in the loss.
Junior forward Chisom Okpara stepped up off the bench in Blakes’ absence, contributing 14 points in just 19 minutes on the floor. Okpara’s layup with 1:42 left to knot the game 69-69 was the last field goal made by Stanford. Okpara’s 14 points set a season high for the New York native.
“The coaches instilled confidence in me,” said Okpara. “We were a couple players down, so I’m just trusting my abilities and taking what the defense gives me.”
Raynaud praised his teammates for rising to the occasion in a game where the team was short-handed.
“These are guys that haven’t played almost at all this year that either started or played significant minutes,” said Raynaud. “I think you really have to tip your hat to them. If a guy is not here, then a guy is not here. It’s just next man up.”
Stanford shot twice as many three-pointers as Wake Forest, and they shot it at a worse clip. The Demon Deacons attempted 12 three-pointers, making 33% of their attempts. The Cardinal only nailed six shots from behind the arc, just 25% of their 24 attempts. There was also a significant difference in free throw attempts as Wake Forest went to the line 33 times to Stanford’s 21. The away team, however, could only cash in 25 of their attempts, shooting 76% as a team, while the home team only missed two free throws.
Up next, Stanford will continue its home stand Saturday afternoon as they welcome the NC State Wolfpack (9-13, 2-9 ACC). The team will look to avoid losing two consecutive games at Maples Pavillion for the first time this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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