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Huge comeback leads Cardinal to victory
By Jeremy Kahn March 1, 2008 |
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STANFORD-What a great way to end the home season for the Stanford Cardinal than with a huge come-from-behind victory over a ranked team. Things were not looking very good for the Cardinal in the first half, as the 22nd ranked Washington State Cougars jumped out to a quick 14-3 lead and never looked back in the first half. The Cougars led by as many as 14 points, the most points that the Cardinal trailed by this entire season. All of that changed in the second half, as sophomore Brook Lopez scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the final 20 minutes and the Cardinal came all the way to defeat the Cougars 60-53 before 7,329 at Maples Pavilion. The seven-footer out of Fresno Memorial High School went 11-for-16 from the field, grabbed six rebounds and blocked four shots, as the Cardinal ended the home slate with a school record 15 wins. With the victory, the Cardinal moved within a half-game of the UCLA Bruins, who play on Sunday at McKale Center on the campus of the University of Arizona. As fate would have it, the Cardinal and the Bruins face off against each other on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA. “I just didn’t want to let the seniors go out like that,” said Lopez. “We really wanted to stay in the Pac-10 race, you know, the Pac-10 championship. I was just trying to go as hard as I could, take it possession by possession, score and get a stop.” This was the final home game for seniors Kenny Brown, who is heading off to dental school next fall, Taj Finger, Peter Prowitt and Fred Washington, the last link to the 2003-2004 team that went 30-2 in Mike Montgomery’s final season as Stanford head coach. Brown, Finger, Prowitt and Washington all started the game for the Cardinal, with the lone non-senior of the starting five being Brook Lopez. The Cardinal finally got it together in the second half, when they narrowed the Cougars huge lead down to 47-45 after a Brook Lopez hit a jumper and also hit the ensuing free throw. The Cardinal tied the game for the first time since it was 0-0, when Finger hit a three pointer from the top of the key that sent the Maples crowd into a frenzy. Anthony Goods then hit a free throw on the next Cardinal possession. “From the 10-minute mark on we were as good as we’ve been all year,” said Trent Johnson. “We did everything right, and Brook and Robin led the way.” Derek Low scored 14 points for the Cougars, but not a single one of those 14 points came in the second half. Aron Bayless scored 10 points before fouling out late in the game, Bayless also grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots. The Cougars picked the worst time to go cold from the floor, as they did not hit a basket in the final 6:50 of the game after Tyler Rochestie and did not score a single point after the 3:16 mark. This was only the third time that the Cougars lost on the road, this is from a team that was ranked as high as ranked at one point during the season blew a lead when they lead at the half. |
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