Stanford 49, Denver 43: Anthony Brown had 17 points and four steals as the Cardinal avoided the upset against the visiting Pioneers.

Stefan Nastic added 10 points and four blocks for Stanford (5-2), which was playing its first game in 13 days. Chasson Randle was the next highest scorer with nine points for the Cardinal.

Marcus Byrd had 11 points and six rebounds to lead Denver (4-5). Brett Olson and Nate Engesser added nine points apiece for the Pioneers.

Denver led 31-24 on a jumper by Duke Douglas with 13:37 left, but the Cardinal moved ahead with a 12-2 run. Randle’s three-point play with 3:28 left highlighted a string of nine unanswered points that put the Cardinal on top by six with 1:59 remaining and the Pioneers could get no closer than four down the stretch.

Denver showed it was for real right off the opening tip, building a 13-2 lead in the first six minutes. Stanford quickly rallied to tie the score at 15-15 before the Pioneers moved ahead again and took a 25-17 into the half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Denver was looking for its second win over a traditional BCS conference team in 26 tries since 1997 and first since beating Oregon State 54-53 on Dec. 13, 2000. … Brown has scored between 11 and 18 points in every game this season. … Both teams had four turnovers with 15 minutes left but Denver finished with 11 to the Cardinal's seven.