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By Rick Eymer
Palo Alto Online Sports

Junior forward Dwight Powell has been flexing his muscles all season for the Stanford men's basketball team. It's just the way Cardinal coach Johnny Dawkins envisioned it when he recruited Powell.

Powell scored a career-high 29 points and settled for five rebounds and a blocked shot as the Cardinal enjoyed its best shooting game of the season Sunday in a 71-58 victory over visiting Denver.

The nonconference game was the last Stanford will play for a while. The school is officially in lockdown, often referred to as a break for finals.

"It was a good game for us going into the break," Dawkins said. "We turned the ball over but we made shots. We still have four new starters growing into their roles and that's going to be an adjustment no matter what their experience."

Powell, who showed a lot of promise as a freshman only to struggle with foot injuries last year, has begun his transformation into one of the top post players in the area. His commanding presence gives Stanford a sense of comfort inside.

"Dwight is healthy and that's a good thing," Dawkins said. "I know it was hard for him to have people think he took a step back last year. But we just couldn't move. The good thing is he's still learning, still developing. We're starting to figure out what we're going to get from him."

Powell helped Stanford to a 21-6 lead and there was no looking back. The Cardinal, with Josh Huestis grabbing 10 rebounds, outboarded the Pioneers, 32-16, and outscored them in the paint, 36-20.

"One of our focuses is to use our size," Powell said. "Hit the post, look for the cutter and try to get easy shots. We're all playing aggressively. It's a mindset we have."

Powell was 10 of 13 from the field and 9 of 11 from the foul line as Stanford shot season highs in field goal percentage (53.3 percent) and free throw percentage (87.5 percent on 21 of 24).

"We still have a lot of stuff to work on," Powell said. "We need to communicate better, take better care of the ball and rebound better."

Stanford (6-3) will be out of action until Saturday, Dec. 15, when it hosts UC Davis at 2 p.m.

Aaron Bright celebrated his return to action, after missing the last four games with an ankle injury, by making his first 3-pointer of the season. The sharpshooter missed his first 13 attempts.

"It was great to see Aaron back on the court," Dawkins said. "He handled the ball well. He hasn't really fully practiced yet either. He felt good and this was a good game to get him some time."

Freshman forward Roscoe Allen earned his first career start after a solid effort in Stanford's won over Seattle on Wednesday.

"He really stepped up in the last game," Dawkins said. "He's also been practicing well. We're still figuring out who we want to be as a team. We wanted to see how we look with him in there, how it affects the chemistry. He's a good passer and rebounder and I thought he did a pretty good job."

Chasson Randle added nine points and four assists for Stanford.

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