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By Rick Eymer
Palo Alto Online Sports

Chasson Randle was Stanford's leading scorer in Saturday night's 65-59 nonconference men's basketball victory over Lafayette but it was freshman Roscoe Allen who nearly stole the show.

Allen scored nine of his season-high 11 points in the final five minutes of the game, a lot of production considering the Cardinal nearly allowed a 10-point advantage dissipate in the final 27 seconds.

Stanford (9-4) opens the Pac-12 Conference on the road next week with visits to USC and UCLA. Players like Allen, who adds some depth at the guard position, will be needed as the Cardinal attempt to traverse the exhausting conference schedule.

"This was a great win for us. We definitely needed it," Allen said. "We need to get a roll going heading into league play."

Stanford was picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 this year, although Cardinal coach Johnny Dawkins thinks it could be as balanced top to bottom as it's ever been.

"There's a lot of depth in the conference," Dawkins said. "We have a chance to be a very good team and we've been in a lot of close games. Having experienced a lot of that, we'll continue to get better."

Randle scored 16 points, Josh Huestis matched his career-high with 14 rebounds and Dwight Powell added nine points and 11 rebounds as the Cardinal won for the fifth time in its last six games.

The Cardinal had two players with 10 or more rebounds in the same game for the first time in nearly two years.

"I think we still have a lot to work on," Allen said. "But we're definitely catching our stride and we have a good rotation going."

Dawkins has started 10 different players, paying attention to giving his younger players some quality time.

"What we're hoping is for guys who have been seasoned helping us as we go into conference play," Dawkins said. "I thought Rosco played well, especially in the second half when he stepped up and made plays."

Joey Ptasinski, 5 of 6 from long range, hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to pull the Leopards within 61-59, but the Cardinal went 6 of 6 from the foul line down the stretch.

Stanford outrebounded Lafayette by a 46-26 margin and turned 14 offensive boards into a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Stanford held a 32-24 lead at halftime.

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