STANFORD, Calif. - University of Denver men's basketball sophomore forward Royce O'Neale (Killeen, Texas) scored 17 points, but the Cardinal's Dwight Powell had 29 points to spark Pac-12 power Stanford to a 71-58 win at Maples Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.
Junior forward Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas), freshman guard Jalen Love (Wichita, Kan.) and sophomore guard Cam Griffin (San Antonio, Texas) each scored 10 points for the Pioneers (1-5). Udofia also had a pair of blocks to move into fourth on DU's all-time career list at 125.
"We really executed well in the second half against a really good Pac-12 team," head coach Joe Scott said. "We had unbelievably open shots, and we made them because of the execution. But we've got to be ready at the beginning of the games, and we haven't done that. We need to play the entire game like we did in the second half today. Doing it against a team like Stanford is a big-time challenge, and hopefully we're going to learn from it."
Powell made 10-of-13 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line, as Stanford (6-3) shot 53.3 percent (24-of-45) from the floor and 87.5 percent (21-of-24) from the free throw line.
Denver, whose last four opponents are now a combined 24-4, hit 40.9 percent from the floor in the game, including a season-high 61.9 percent (13-of-21) in the second half. The Pioneers also converted 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) from free throw line.
Stanford's big men limited Denver to just 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) from the field and 1-of-6 from three-point range in the first half, and the Cardinal forced 15 DU turnovers and hit 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from the field to take a 35-19 lead at halftime.
A dunk by Udofia and three-pointer, and another three-pointer by O'Neale helped spark a 9-2 Denver run that cut the deficit to 10 points with 12:44 left in the game.
After Stanford extended the lead back to 16 points, O'Neale stole a pass and sent a full-court pass to Udofia for a three-point play that cut the lead back to 11 points with just under five minutes to play.
The Pioneers outscored Stanford 39-36 in the second half, but the Cardinal iced the game with free throws late.
The Pioneers return to Magness Arena to host Mercer on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT.
Individual game tickets are on sale now with prices starting at $9 for adults. DU Students get into the game for free with their Pioneer Card.
Visit denverpioneers.com for complete coverage of all DU's Division I athletic programs.
--EXPERIENCE DENVER ATHLETICS-
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