Men's college basketball roundup: Stanford gives Kyle Smith his 300th coaching victory; Cal also among Bay Area winners

Julius Price scored 17 points, and Stanford closed with a 10-0 run to beat Eastern Washington 74-65 on Monday at Maples Pavilion to give coach Kyle Smith his 300th career win.

Eastern Washington built a 13-point first-half lead, but the Cardinal rallied with a 19-2 push to lead 34-30 at halftime in the season opener for both teams.

The game remained tight in the second half, with an Alton Hamilton IV jumper giving the Eagles a 65-64 lead with 2:45 remaining.

Nick Townsend then hit a go-ahead layup for Stanford, and Aziz Olajuwon stole the ball and scored to give the Cardinal a 68-65 lead with two minutes remaining. The Eagles turned the ball over, and Price turned it into a layup to help the Cardinal pull away.

"That was a really nice win for us," Smith said. "We knew it was going to be tough. I saw Eastern Washington last year … they're really well coached and I expected that. They're really big and they're physical and they bothered us early."

Aidan Cammann had 13 points, and Olajuwon, the son of Hall-of-Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, totaled 12 points and six steals for Stanford. Townsend also scored 12 points.

Hamilton led Eastern Washington with 20 points.

Cal 115, Adams State 86: Michael Cooper came off the bench to score 24 points, Sammie Yeanay had 21 and Nojus Indrusaitis added 20 as the Bears opened their season win a win in Berkeley. 

Jordan Ross and Jake Wilkins each chipped in with 12 points. 

"I think what you saw tonight was unselfish basketball," Cal coach Mark Madsen said. "And that's ultimately what we're preaching as a staff, it's what the players want, and that ball was moving around the court. … I was proud of the way our guys competed." 

Emilek Jallow paced Adams State, a Division II program, with 19 points.

St. Mary's 90, Illinois State 85: In their first game under coach Mickey McConnell, who succeeded Randy Bennett after his 25-year run at the school, Mantas Juzenas scored 20 points, including five in overtime, as the Gaels beat the Redbirds in Moraga. 

Thomas Ndong added 18 points and Evangelos Zougris had 16 for St. Mary's.

Johnny Kinziger finished with 30 points and four assists for the Redbirds. 

USF 76, Radford 62: Dylan Bordon scored 20 points and Ismaila Diagne had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Dons, who opened their season with a win over the visiting Highlanders.

USF led by seven at halftime, then saw the margin shrink to one in the second half before the Dons re-established control.

Gustav Knudsen had 15 points and Ben Oosterbaan 10 for USF, which won the rebound battle 39-35 and forced 19 turnovers. 

Santa Clara 89, Towson 70: Brad Longcor III scored 18 points, Aleksandar Gavalyugov added 17 and David Castillo 14 as the host Broncos opened their season with a win. 

Gavalyugov scored 14 points in the first half to help put the Broncos hold a 43-35 lead at the break. Santa Clara extended its lead to 63-45 during the second half, fueled by a 10-0 scoring run. 

"It's always great to get the first one," coach Herb Sendek said. "Everybody has the butterflies, and everybody wants to do well. And no matter how many times you practice… nothing's like that first game of the year."

Jaquan Womack had 15 points and 12 rebounds  for the Tigers. 

San Jose State 95, Texas-San Antonio 74: Joey Chammaa scored 27 points, Mekhi Mason added 26 and Robert Vaihola provided a double-double  with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds as the host Spartans beat the Roadrunners in the season opener.

San Jose State carried a 45-27 lead into halftime after closing with a 17-2 run before intermission.

"We ended the first half really strong, we were good defensively and followed on offense," Spartans coach Tim Miles said. "They make you play a certain way 'cause they're either feast or famine. They're either going to turn you over or you're going to get a good shot. And we were patient enough to do that." 

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This article originally published at Men's college basketball roundup: Stanford gives Kyle Smith his 300th coaching victory; Cal also among Bay Area winners.

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