Nick Townsend scores 25 to lead Stanford to 81-63 victory over Oakland

Nick Townsend scored 25 points and Stanford pulled away in the second half to beat Oakland 81-63STANFORD, Calif. -- Nick Townsend scored 25 points and Stanford pulled away in the second half to beat Oakland 81-63 on Friday night.Townsend made 8 of 11 shots with a 3-pointer and 8 of 9 free throws for the Cardinal (2-0).Christian Bliss came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers and score 17 for Stanford. Aidan Cammann added 13 points.Chris Fields Jr.. led the Golden Grizzlies (0-2) with 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting. Reserve William Kassi scored 11.Bella El Shakery had a three-point play to give Oakland an 11-7 lead less than six minutes in. Townsend hit a jumper, then turned his tip-in into a three-point play as Stanford grabbed the lead and never trailed again in taking a 38-33 advantage into halftime. Kassi's layup cut it to 40-39 with 17:33 remaining, but Bliss and Townsend hit 3-pointers over the next 56 seconds as the Cardinal regained a two-possession lead before pulling away.Stanford shot 47% overall, making 9 of 27 from beyond the arc along with 14 of 15 free throws.Popular ReadsOakland shot 45% but missed 14 of 17 from distance and nine of 25 free throws.Oakland: At UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.Stanford: Hosts Rice on Monday.___Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full men’s basketball coverage hereSponsored Content by Taboola