Norfolk State and Stanford are both off to strong starts this season — the Spartans at 4-1 and the Cardinal 4-0. On Wednesday at Stanford, they will see which team is stronger.

Norfolk State is coming off a 67-58 victory at Hampton on Saturday, while Stanford defeated UC Davis 79-65 at home on Sunday. The Spartans bounced back in the win over Hampton after losing 84-73 at William & Mary last week.

Murray State transfer Brian Moore Jr. scored a game-high 20 points while Christian Ings posted 16 for the Spartans on Saturday. Jalen Myers, inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season, had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Norfolk State’s trip to Stanford begins a three-game trip on the West Coast. The Spartans also will play at Grand Canyon on Friday and UC Davis on Monday.

“We always preach … good teams don’t go on losing streaks,” Norfolk State coach Robert Jones said. “So now, with the win (over Hampton), we’re not on a losing streak, and now we’ve gotta try to figure out how to go on a winning streak with a very, very tough West Coast trip.”

Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the win over UC Davis. He became the program’s 51st player to reach 1,000 career points.

The Paris native made 13 field goals and tied a career-best with five 3-pointers. The double-double was his fourth this season.

“I’ve always believed in him, even before he started at Stanford because I was trying to get him to Washington State,” said coach Kyle Smith, in his first year at Stanford after coaching the Cougars for five seasons.

“He’s grown at his own pace to be a 7-foot-1 guy. When you’re a 7-foot-1 guy, you always have a lot of expectations. Now, he’s getting into the meat of his prime of his college career where he can be the lead dog, and he’s only going to get better.”

–Field Level Media