Field Level Media
Nov 29, 2018
Stanford tightened the defensive screws after Portland State rallied into a second-half tie Wednesday night, pulling away from the visiting Vikings for a 79-67 nonconference victory.
Oscar da Silva led a balanced attack with 12 points as the Cardinal (4-3) warmed up for a game at No. 2 Kansas on Saturday with a second consecutive win.
Michael Nuga had a game-high 19 points for Portland State (3-3), a 20-game winner last season.
Nuga scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, during which the Vikings rallied from as much as a six-point deficit to claim a 35-34 lead at the break.
Da Silva contributed two layups as Stanford opened the second half on an 8-0 run to take a seven-point lead, only to see it all disappear by the 11:33 mark after Portland State's Robert McCoy made one of two free throws for a 46-all tie.
Josh Sharma then triggered the Cardinal's take-charge burst with a layup, and Bryce Wills ended the 10-0 run with another layup that put Stanford in front 56-46.
Portland State went almost six full minutes without a basket as the game slipped away.
Da Silva also found time for four rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots for Stanford, which was coming off a seventh-place finish at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Sharma had a team-high eight rebounds to go with nine points for the Cardinal, while Wills added 10 points.
Holland Woods had 18 points and a team-high five assists, and Sal Nuhu recorded a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double for Portland State, which has an 84-57 loss at Oregon on its record this season.
Stanford outshot the visitors 53.8 percent to 31.7 percent.
--Field Level Media