STANFORD, Calif. – DePaul’s sloppy play cost them a winnable game against the Stanford Cardinal, as they fell 79-60.
Stanford came out red-hot, hitting their first four shots on the way to a quick 11-6 lead. Junior Marcus Allen was a one-man unit, scoring 11 of Stanford’s first 13 points. Still, DePaul shot early and often from beyond the arc, keeping them in the game trailing only 21-15 at the first media timeout.
DePaul’s Achilles heel against Little Rock reared its ugly head again tonight: turnovers. Stanford bullied DePaul into coughing up the ball, leading to a 15-4 points off of turnovers advantage in the first half. DePaul also struggled to get to the free throw line in the first half, winding up with only two points from the charity stripe.
Stanford’s halfcourt offense didn’t have to do much, but it sizzled to a 64 percent performance from beyond the arc. The Cardinal led the Blue Demons 39-24 at the break.
Leitao’s adjustments seemed to solve DePaul’s woes early on in the second half. The Blue Demons got off to a 13-8 start, and played even with the Cardinal in the first 10 minutes. Billy Garrett Jr. was stellar during this stretch, netting 13 points and four assists in the second half alone.
Stanford figured out DePaul’s halfcourt trap, and pulled away to finish the game. The Cardinal iced the game by going on a 14-7 run in the middle of the 2nd half.
Stanford continued to take it to DePaul in the turnovers category. A few times it seemed as though the Blue Demons didn’t know what to do against stifling defense. DePaul didn’t get a point off of a turnover in the second half until there were seven minutes left in the game.
The Blue Demons wound up losing by a score of 79-60. Aaron Simpson led DePaul in scoring with 16 points, while Garrett chipped in 15 of his own.