Da Silva, Sharma lead Stanford past Vikings, 79-67
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Oscar da Silva had last year's loss to Portland State on his mind and used it for motivation. Josh Sharma said it felt like he had a chip on his shoulder.
Da Silva scored 12 points, Bryce Wills added 10 and six others scored at least seven points in helping Stanford down Portland State 79-67 on Wednesday night.
"It was heartbreaking, tough loss in Portland," da Silva said.
Sharma had a career-high eight rebounds for the Cardinal (4-3), who won their second straight following a three-game losing skid.
"I knew we had to get this one," Sharma said. "Especially at home."
Michael Nuha scored 19 points to lead the Vikings (3-3), who had won three of their previous four games. Holland Woods added 18 points and Sal Nuhu recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and a career-best 14 rebounds.
"We're very disappointed. We had some unbelievable stats in this game," Vikings coach Barret Peery said. "We had 24 offensive boards (to Stanford's five) and beat them on the glass 51 to 36. We turned them over 19 times. Obviously, the free throws were a disparity on that end (Stanford was 21 of 34 from the line, PSU was 13 of 20). Overall, we were in a two- or three-possession game, we were up a couple at halftime; it was a heck of a battle."
Stanford took the lead for good during a 4:16 stretch of the second half in which the Vikings missed nine straight shots, allowing the Cardinal to build a 56-46 advantage.
"We survived," Stanford coach Jarod Haase said. "We had a lot of guys, young guys who grew up today."
The Cardinal had every opportunity to pull away from the Vikings in the opening minutes of the second half, scoring on four consecutive layups to open a 42-35 edge but a pair of turnovers and a spectacular missed dunk from freshman Bryce Wills gave Portland State the opportunity to pull even at 46.
Wills' dunk attempt bounced off the back of the rim and out to the free-throw line while Wills went sliding on his back into a row of chairs under the basket.
"We have to get better," da Silva said. "We have a lot of work to do to get where we want to be."
Neither team shot the ball from 3-point range effectively, combining to go 4 of 40 (10 percent) from long range.
There were six lead changes in the first half, with Portland State enjoying a 35-34 advantage at halftime.
BIG PICTURE
Portland State: For the Vikings, Stanford is its second Pac-12 team on the schedule. The Vikings lost at then No. 14 Oregon by 27 points in their season opener. ... Portland State defeated the Cardinal in last season's PK80 Invitational in Portland. ... Vikings coach Barret Peery was on the coaching staff at Arizona State and Utah and spent a year at Santa Clara before taking the job in Portland.
Stanford: Played its first home game since its season opener against Seattle on Nov. 6. A scheduled game against Wofford on Nov. 16 was cancelled due to poor air quality from the Camp Fire in Butte County. It will be another 17 days before they play another home game (vs. Eastern Washington on Dec. 15) due to a two-week break for finals.
UP NEXT
Portland State: Hosts Portland Bible on Saturday.
Stanford: Plays at Kansas on Saturday.
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