Brandon Angel’s double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds led a balanced attack that lifted 10th-seeded Stanford to a 73-62 win over seventh-seeded Utah in the first round of the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
Angel followed up two free throws with a jumper that gave the Cardinal a 53-40 lead and they stayed ahead by double figures the rest of the way.
Harrison Ingram added 15 points for Stanford (14-18), which advances to face second-seeded and eighth-ranked Arizona on Thursday. Maxime Raynaud and Spencer Jones both scored 12.
Branden Carlson scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Utah (17-15), which has lost six in a row. Gabe Madsen scored 13 and Lazar Stefanovic 10.
Utah made three consecutive shots, pulling within 58-48 on a Stefanovic three-pointer with six minutes left. That was the first time in the second half the Utes made consecutive shots, but Jones quickly responded with a three-pointer.
The next time Utah made consecutive shots, Carlson made it 70-60 at the 1:20 mark, but Angel made two free throws and Ingram one.
Stanford had an 11-point lead on two possessions in the middle of the first half but the Utes answered with an 11-2 run, starting and ending with a Madsen three-pointer, to cut it to 22-20. Jones then had a three-point play and three-pointer in scoring seven consecutive points and the Cardinal got it back to 10 until Carlson hit a three-pointer to go in the closing seconds to pull Utah within 34-27.
The teams split close games during the regular season with the road team winning.
— The Associated Press