Will the 49ers Bench Kaepernick After Loss to St. Louis? by Danny Saeed

Courtesy: Don Feria/Stanford University Athletics

Stanford’s Dwight Powell’s career-high 29 points led the Cardinal over the Denver Pioneers 71 – 58 in an afternoon game at Maples Pavilion.

Powell shot 10-of-13 from the field, 9-of-11 from the charity stripe, and topped it off with five rebounds. Teammate Josh Huestis grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and contributed eight points. Chasson Randle chipped in nine points, and handed off four assists. Starter Rosco Allen cleared six rebounds, as the Cardinal dominated the Pioneers on the glass 33 – 16.

The Pioneers were led by Royce O’Neal’s 17 points, followed by Chris Udofia, Cam Griffin, and Jalen Love, who all scored 10 points each. Griffin led the Pioneers in rebounding with four, while Udofia and reserve Marcus Byrd each had three boards. O’Neale, Udofia, and Griffin each had two assists in a losing effort.

The Cardinal dominated the shorter Pioneers for most of the first half, taking a first-half lead of 35 – 19 largely on the wide shoulders of Powell, who had 19 points in the opening half.

The Pioneers may have been over-matched vertically, but their surprising athleticism in the paint enabled them to close the gap in the second half against a listless Stanford team which was never really challenged. By executing their offensive sets with crisper passing, the Pioneers actually outscored the Cardinal 39 – 36 in the second half.

But no amount of scrappy play could overcome the dominance of Powell in the paint.

Box Score

Stanford’s next opponent in Maples Pavilion is UC-Davis on December 15 at 2 pm.