CLEMSON, S.C. – In their debut ACC matchup on the East Coast, Stanford men’s basketball suffered a defeat against Clemson, 85-71, at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Cardinal’s record now stands at 9-4 this season and 1-1 in the ACC.
Oziyah Sellers topped the Cardinal with 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting, achieving his third 20-point performance of the season. Maxime Raynaud added 14 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, marking his nation-leading 11th double-double of the year. Jaylen Blakes contributed 13 points along with five assists.
This meeting marked the first encounter between Stanford and Clemson on the basketball court. Stanford jumped to a 7-0 advantage in just 1:30 with baskets from Sellers, Raynaud, and Blakes. The Cardinal stretched their lead to as high as eight points in the first half, at 25-17, following a 10-0 run, but Clemson narrowed the margin and seized the lead with just 11 seconds left in the half. The Tigers (11-3, 3-0 ACC) went into the break leading, 43-41.
After a three-pointer from Sellers tied the game at 52-52 with 14:37 remaining, Clemson erupted with a 19-5 run that established their dominance. Although Sellers and Blakes managed to reduce the deficit to as few as nine points with 4:58 left in the game, Clemson maintained their grip on the victory.
Raynaud continued his climb through the Stanford scoring record hierarchy, ascending to 34th place all-time after surpassing both Mark Madsen and Dorian Pickens during the game.
Stanford is set to return to the court on Saturday, Jan 4, against Pittsburgh. The match is scheduled to tip off at 3:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
