STANFORD — With 2.6 seconds left in the game and time about to expire on the shot clock, Stanford freshman Kanaan Carlyle heaved a 35-footer toward the hoop.
It swished, summing up a 28-point coming-out party performance by Carlyle in his fourth college game and the Cardinal, which made a school-record 16 3’s in a 100-82 rout of No. 4 Arizona on Sunday at Maples Pavilion.
Coach Jerod Haase was in a mood to celebrate afterward.
“This will absolutely be the peak moment of this season from 2023,” he said. “In 2024, we’re going to start from scratch and see if we can get new peaks. I told the players they could enjoy it for the rest of the year.”
Stanford (6-6, 1-1 Pac-12) arrived at the final day of the year having beaten no one ranked higher than No. 127 by the NCAA’s NET computer. The Wildcats (10-3, 1-1), who were coming off a 100-81 win at Cal, were No. 3 in the NET.
The victory gives the Cardinal wins over teams ranked in the top-5 of the AP poll each of the past three seasons: an 88-79 victory over No. 4 Arizona last season and a 75-69 defeat of No. 5 USC the year before.
The Wildcats (10-3, 1-1) were coming off a 100-81 rout of Cal in which they led by 31 points in the first half.
Stanford’s third win over Arizona the past four years in the Bay Area took some sting away from a last-minute loss to Arizona State on Friday, in which the Cardinal squandered a late 10-point lead.
“Friday night was tough. On the flip side, the highs are awfully fun,” Haase said. “I thought the young guys really added a big-time spark throughout the game.”
Carlyle and Andrej Stojakovic, the son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic, are both top-60 freshman recruits. Carlyle, who shot 4-for-4 on 3’s in the first half and added eight rebounds, had to sit out the first eight games while getting his academics squared away.
But his talent has been apparent in practice, said Stojakovic, who contributed 16 points as Stanford’s reserves totaled 49 points.
“I’m not surprised at all. We were waiting for this moment,” Stojakovic said of his teammate’s outburst. “I’ve been telling Kanaan, as young guys we’ve got to step up. He just showed college basketball what he could do. I already knew it was going to happen at some point but now the whole world knows.”
“I think it was my time,” said Carlyle, an Atlanta native who averaged 8.3 points through his first three games. “It was building up. I just needed to go out there and do what I needed to do to help us win.”
Haase said the two freshmen bring a fresh element to what is otherwise a veteran team, with two graduate players and two seniors among the starting five.
“He was fearless out there,” Haase said of Carlyle. “Both of those guys, their eyes are full of wonder. We have an old team that has been through the wars. It’s really fun for me and the rest of the guys to look into their eyes and feed off of that.”
Fifth-year senior forward Spencer Jones, who missed four games early this season due to injury, scored 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting, including 5 of 6 on 3’s. Stanford finished 16 for 24 from deep after making 12 of its first 17 attempts.
Stanford, which never trailed, led 44-35 at halftime and stretched the margin to 60-43 after Jones drilled three straight 3-pointers in a span of 56 seconds.
“Spencer came out hot, which was awesome,” Haase said. “That was a good message for the guys that we can keep going.”
Point guard Jared Bynum, a transfer from Providence, had nine points and a season-high 11 assists. Forward Maxime Raynaud added 12 points.
Guard Caleb Love, a transfer from North Carolina, led Arizona with 23 points.