After tough loss, Stanford battles improving San Jose State

Ebuka Okorie and Stanford look to get back in the win column as they make the short trip to face Colby Garland and San Jose State in a Bay Area clash on Saturday.

The Cardinal (7-2) are coming off a stunning 75-74 home loss to UNLV last Sunday. Okorie posted 18 points, five rebounds and three assists and tied the game late, but Kimani Hamilton hit a free throw in the final seconds to lift the Runnin' Rebels.

Stanford led by nine in the first half.

"That was obviously a tough loss for our program, for our team," Stanford coach Kyle Smith said. "They kept us on our heels with their defenses, mixing defenses, and we didn't handle it well enough. I thought they forced us into ... obviously turning the ball over, which is a little bit uncharacteristic. We took some questionable shots. So, hat tip to them, they won the game and we had our opportunities, and hopefully we can learn from this."

Garland posted 27 points, five rebounds and four assists his last time out for the Spartans (5-5), who are rebounding from a tough start. They are 4-1 at home and have won three of their last four, including an 89-83 overtime thriller against Long Beach State on Tuesday.

That game featured 14 lead changes and 18 ties. Sadraque NgaNga hit a tiebreaking layup and Garland had 10 points in overtime to propel San Jose State to victory. Yaphet Moundi had 18 points and Jermaine Washington added 14 points and six assists.

"We've got a lot of other problems we have to solve before we celebrate this (win) too much, but I think it can be good for us," Spartans coach Tim Miles said. "Every team has to figure out how to win, and I saw really exciting things today. I was disappointed in a lot of things, too. We'll get better from this, and we have a tough one against Stanford."

Saturday's game marks the teams' first meeting since the 2021-22 season. The Cardinal won 76-62 at home.

--Field Level Media