Stanford’s home opener had all the ingredients of an early-season test: a sluggish start, a first-half rally, a second-half scare and, in the end, a 74-65 win over Eastern Washington on Monday night.
The Cardinal, now 1-0 overall and 0-0 in ACC play, had to dig out of a hole after trailing 28-15 with six minutes left before halftime. But the game flipped when freshman guard Julius Price started attacking the rim. His two layups helped drag Stanford back into it, and the Cardinal kept chipping away until they were within two points with three minutes to go in the half.
Then Stanford finished the period with a burst. Fifth-year transfer forward Nick Townsend scored on a layup in the final seconds, and freshman forward Aziz Olajuwon followed with a buzzer-beating three to send the Cardinal into the break ahead 34-30.
“I felt we started off slow, but we stayed resilient and fought our way back,” Price said after the game.
Stanford carried that edge into the second half and scored twice in the opening two minutes. The lead grew to 48-39 after junior forward Donavin Young threw down a dunk, then Price added a three-pointer and a floating jumper.
Eastern Washington wasn’t done, though. The Eagles clawed all the way back to tie it at 48-48 with 13 minutes left in regulation, forcing Stanford to answer again. Olajuwon hit a three-pointer, and senior forward Aidan Cammann added a layup to push the Cardinal back in front.
From there, the game stayed tight, with both teams trading baskets as the clock wound down. Stanford eventually created enough separation to close it out at the line, finishing the night on two free throws after Olajuwon drew a foul.
The win gave Stanford head coach Kyle Smith his 300th career victory.
“That was a great, great win for us,” said Smith. “Our approach to competing and playing in a tight, close game was really healthy.”
The freshmen were central to the result. Price led Stanford with 17 points while adding four assists and two rebounds.
Olajuwon finished with 12 points and four rebounds, and he became only the second Stanford player in the last 10 years to record six steals in a game. Isaiah Rogers, another freshman guard, contributed 10 points, four assists and four rebounds.
Together, Price, Olajuwon and Rogers logged more than 90 minutes and accounted for more than half of Stanford’s scoring.
“[The freshmen] were the group that really helped us,” said Coach Smith after the game.
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