STANFORD, Calif. – Nick Townsend scored a season-best 31 points and Stanford men’s basketball rolled to a 91-73 victory over Rice at Maples Pavilion. Stanford improved to 3-0 this season with the win.

One point shy of his career-high, the 30-point outing was the second of Townsend’s career and the second by any ACC player this season, along with Boston College’s Money Williams. The fifth-year transfer went 9-for-14 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and a perfect 11-for-11 mark at the free throw line, while also contributing eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. He ended the evening ranked second in the ACC in scoring.

Austin Maurer contributed his second-career double-double, and his first in a Stanford uniform, with 14 points, a career-best 11 rebounds and a career-high-tying three steals. Christian Bliss was in double figures for the second consecutive game, finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Julius Price pitched in 10 points and four assists.

The Cardinal shot 51.2 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from beyond the arc, and it finished just one free throw shy of a perfect night at the free throw line, going 21-for-22 (95.2%). The Cardinal held a 10-point advantage in the paint, 42-32, and got a season-best 38 points off the bench.

Stanford took the lead for good less than four minutes into the game, led by a 17-4 run that spanned more than six minutes to give Stanford an early 11-point lead, 24-13, with 10:13 to play in the half. Townsend scored 19 of his 31 points in the opening frame, and Stanford finished the first half on a 15-8 run to lead by 16 at the break, 45-29.

The Cardinal led by as many as 30 points in the second half after an extended 29-10 run with 9:40 to play. Elias Obenyah and Drew Anderson each scored their first-career points in the second half, and Stanford cruised to the victory.

Hitting the road for the first time in the regular season, Stanford travels to UNLV on Friday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.