National Basketball Association
Stanford 70, Virginia Tech 59
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Where: Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California
Officials:
# Tony Padilla, # Roger Ayers, # Clare Aubry
Attendance:
3262
By Field Level Media
Maxime Raynaud and Oziyah Sellers each scored 19 points to help Stanford beat Virginia Tech 70-59 on Wednesday in the Cardinal's first Atlantic Coast Conference home game.
Raynaud grabbed 14 rebounds and Jaylen Blakes tallied 17 points for Stanford (10-5, 2-2), which defected from the Pac-12 after last season. Blakes hit 10 of 12 free throws as the Cardinal finished 15 of 17 from the line while the Hokies shot just 3 of 7.
Ben Burnham scored a season-high 18 points off the bench to pace Virginia Tech (6-9, 1-3), which led by 12 midway through the first half. Tobi Lawal added 15 points and Mylyjael Poteat scored 12.
The Hokies drew even at 56 on Poteat's layup with 5:35 left before Stanford rattled off nine straight points to take the lead for good. Donavin Young started the run with a layup and Ryan Agarwal hit two free throws before Sellers swished a corner three for a 63-56 edge with 3:48 to go.
Blakes tacked on two foul shots with 2:40 remaining to finish the flurry, and Virginia Tech never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
The Hokies churned out 14 straight points over an eight-minute stretch in the first half to take a double-digit lead. Burnham capped the run with a pair of 3-pointers that pushed Virginia Tech ahead 16-4 with 9:29 left.
Stanford missed eight straight shots before Raynaud's jumper broke the Cardinal's nine-minute scoring drought and pulled them within 16-6 at the 9:05 mark.
The Hokies maintained at least a nine-point lead until Sellers canned two triples to cut the deficit to three with 1:03 remaining in the first half. Virginia Tech led 30-25 at the break after Rodney Brown Jr. rattled in a midrange jumper in the final seconds.
Stanford opened the second half hot from the floor and slid ahead 39-38 on Raynaud's layup with 15:15 to go. Young followed with a 3-pointer and Sellers capped a string of four straight makes with a layup that pushed the Cardinal's lead to 44-38.
The visitors responded with a 12-4 flurry, which included two soaring slams by Lawal, to pull ahead 50-48 with 8:18 left.
Both sides traded baskets over the next few minutes, highlighted by poster dunks from Lawal and Young on consecutive possessions.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Virginia Tech |
|
Stanford |
Ben Burnham 18 |
Scoring |
Maxime Raynaud 19 |
Rodney Brown Jr. 3 |
Assists |
Jaylen Blakes 6 |
Toibu Lawal 5 |
Rebounds |
Maxime Raynaud 14 |
Toibu Lawal 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Jaylen Blakes 10 |
Rodney Brown Jr. 1 |
Steals |
Ryan Agarwal 1 |
Ben Burnham 1 |
Blocks |
Maxime Raynaud 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Virginia Tech
|
59 |
46.4 |
4-14 |
3-7 |
8 |
24 |
1 |
3 |
10 |
Stanford
|
70 |
44.2 |
9-24 |
15-17 |
15 |
32 |
1 |
2 |
11 |