B.J. Jenkins scored nine of his 15 points in the first half and Murray State rode a tenacious first-half defensive effort to a 55-52 victory over Stanford in the first round of the 76er Classic in Anaheim, Calif. on Thursday.

The Racers (3-1) will face the winner of the Tulsa-UNLV game on Friday in the semifinals, while The Cardinal (3-1) will play the loser.

Murray State, the defending Ohio Valley Conference champion which returned eight of its top 10 players from a team that upset No. 4 seed Vanderbilt in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, got after The Cardinal from the opening tip.

The Racers forced 12 first-half turnovers and limited Stanford to 7-of-20 shooting to take a 29-18 lead. The Racers shot 50 percent (10-of-20) in the first half and Jenkins sank two 3-pointers.

Josh Owens scored Stanford's first eight points of the second half, but the Cardinal couldn't draw any closer than five points until the final 20 seconds of the game.

Dwight Powell scored 16 points, but leading scorer Jeremy Green was held to nine on 3-of-10 shooting for Stanford, which finished at 41.3 percent with 19 turnovers.

Stanford had dispatched of San Diego State, Virginia and Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a combined 88 points in its first three games.