Oziyah Sellers made up for a rare off day from star teammate Maxime Raynaud with a career-high 27 points and host Stanford rode a sizzling stretch by its defense to beat Florida State 78-71 on Saturday.
The Cardinal held the Seminoles without a point for 5 1/2 minutes in the middle of the first half, built a 33-25 halftime lead, then never let Florida State get closer than seven the rest of the way in improving to 14-6 overall and 6-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Raynaud, the national leader in double-doubles with 16, ran up double figures in rebounds for the 17th time this season with a game-high 14, but missed seven of his 11 shots and totaled a season-low eight points.
Sellers took the scoring reins, shooting 10-for-16 overall and 4-for-6 on 3-pointers to top his previous career high of 24 set earlier this season against Denver.
The guard’s first 3-pointer came 6:30 into the game and gave Stanford a 12-10 lead. He added consecutive dunks and Raynaud a layup in a 9-0 run that extended the margin to eight, from which the Seminoles never fully recovered.
Florida State (13-7, 4-5) went from the 13:51 mark to the 8:20 mark without scoring, missing six shots and mixing in five turnovers en route to a winless two-game trip to Northern California that began with a 77-68 loss Wednesday at California.
Benny Gealer chipped in with 13 points and a team-high four assists off the bench while teammate Jaylen Blakes also accumulated 13 points for Stanford, which won its third in a row.
Nine of Gealer’s points came on 3-pointers, helping the Cardinal outscore the visitors 33-18 from beyond the arc. Stanford made 11 of its 24 3-point attempts.
Jamir Watkins went for 20 points and eight rebounds — both team highs — for the Seminoles, who shot just 37.9 percent overall and 30 percent (6-for-20) on 3-pointers.
Malique Ewin had 16 points and Daquan Davis 14 for the visitors, who were nailed with four technical fouls.
–Field Level Media