STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Sophomore Jaiden Delaire has a simple goal for himself and that is to just get better. He took a big leap in the right direction Tuesday night.
Delaire scored a career-high 21 points, Oscar da Silva added 16 points, and Stanford beat Maryland Eastern Shore 76-55 in the first-ever meeting between the teams Tuesday night.
“I don’t want to give myself a ceiling,” said Delaire, whose previous best was a 14-point effort against Long Beach State earlier this season. “My goal is to continue to keep playing better.”
Spencer Jones added 12 points, all on 3-pointers, for the Cardinal (5-0), who are off to their best start in eight years. Tyrell Terry netted 10 points.
“I’d like to expand my game to help the team win,” Jones said.
Jones is 16 of 30 from 3-point range this season and 16 of 34 from the field.
“He’s been a great lift,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase said of Jones. “Whether he starts or comes off the bench, he provides a spark. When the ball hits his hands he catches it ready.”
Canaan Bartley scored 10 points for the Hawks (0-5), who faced their second Power 5 Conference opponent of the season.
“We’ve played some high-major opponents already, so we knew coming in that Stanford was the best at executing their offense,” Hawks coach Jason Crafton said. “We knew that would be a tall task with their ability to make 3’s, back cuts and all the passing and cutting they do. In the second half we just calmed down and settled in.”
Eastern Shore opened the second half by outscoring Stanford 13-3 but it wasn’t enough to cut into a sizeable deficit.
“They came out with some energy and we didn’t have it,” Delaire said. “That’s why you saw coach sub everybody in and out. We rallied together and were able to pick it back up.”
Haase said the second half was a chance to learn.
“If we don’t keep our edge, bad things are going to happen,” he said. “We’ve got to learn though. We were able to keep the lead and get out with a win.”
Stanford has allowed 65 points or fewer in all five games, its best stretch in nearly five years.
The Hawks made their first field goal eight minutes into the contest, by which time they were down by 11 points and that’s about the best it ever got. Bartley scored on a layup following a Stanford turnover.
Delaire hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to give the Cardinal a 46-16 edge at halftime.
A TEAM CHARGE
When Isaac White took a charge, the Stanford bench went wild. “You can say the entire team can take pride in that charge,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase said. “When Isaac was on the bench, he was staying engaged in the game so that when he went in, there was no adjustment. I’m sure Sam (Beskind) was the ringleader of the group that helped get Isaac in the right spot to take the charge.”
BIG PICTURE
Eastern Shore: The Hawks have lost all five games by double-digits, twice by 30 or more. They’re coming off a 7-25 season. Bruce Guy went into the game as the team’s leading scorer at 9.3 points per game. Four players average at least six points.
Stanford: The Cardinal won their first five games for the first time since 2011 and have a game remaining on its season-opening six-game homestand. Tyrell Terry became the first freshman to reach double figures in scoring in his first four games since former NBA player Josh Childress did it in 2001.
UP NEXT
Eastern Shore: The Hawks travel to play Oklahoma on Thursday.
Stanford: The Cardinal hosts William & Mary on Thursday.
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