AJ Rohosy and Chisom Okpara each posted 20 points as Stanford held on in the final seconds to beat host San Jose State 86-82 at Provident Credit Union Event Center on Saturday.
Stanford led by as many as 14 points in the second half and led 75-61 with 4:52 left to play, but San Jose State cut the Cardinal’s lead to 82-75 with 1:06 left to play in the game following a layup and two free throws by Yaphet Moundi. The Spartans had possession of the ball with under 10 seconds to play and trailed by just two points, but Benny Gealer got to the free-throw line to secure Stanford’s narrow victory.
Jeremy Dent-Smith added 16 points, and Ryan Agarwal had a team-leading nine rebounds for the Cardinal (8-2), who were coming off a brutal 75-74 home defeat to UNLV that they lost in the final seconds of play. Stanford played without leading scorer freshman Ebuka Okorie, who was sidelined with a lower-body injury he sustained in practice.
Moundi had 26 points and five rebounds for the Spartans (5-6), who had won back-to-back games. Colby Garland added 20 points and nine assists despite briefly exiting the game with an apparent lower-body injury with 9:41 left to play.
Stanford started the game going 6-for-7 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc as it took a 16-8 lead with 16:23 left in the first half. Rohosy’s jump shot with 9:49 left in the half gave the Cardinal a 29-16 advantage. A 6-0 run by the hosts made the score 35-29 with 4:34 to play, while a three-point shot by Garland closed the gap to 40-34 at 2:42. Stanford held on for a 44-36 lead heading into the half.
Agarwal’s layup extended Stanford’s lead to 51-40 with 16:16 to go in the second half. The Spartans got within four points of the Cardinal’s lead, but Stanford extended the advantage to 61-50 with 11:28. Garland returned from the sidelines to hit a jump shot and make it 63-56 in favor of the Cardinal with 8:06 remaining.
