Stanford up 29-28 at the half

You like fast-paced basketball? Then this isn’t the game for you, except maybe the final minute in which the Cougars surrendered all of a hard-earned first-half advantage. The pace of this game was so slow it only took about 35 minutes to play 20 as there were few possessions and only about a dozen whistles. WSU jumped out to a 9-2 lead, stretched that to 15-7, then started turning the ball over. With 4 minutes, 39 seconds left, the Cougars led 26-22. But then one of those stretches hit, and WSU went more than 4 minutes without a bucket, allowing Stanford to build a 29-26 lead. Only Aron Baynes’ follow in the final 25 seconds (Baynes was just 2 of 5 in the half with three turnovers as Stanford doubled him almost every time he touched the ball) kept WSU within one at intermission. Klay Thompson led WSU with 10 points, while DeAngelo Casto, who made his second start of the season, grabbed five rebounds. Lawrence Hill paced Stanford with 11 points, but it was the Cardinal’s outside shooting – 5 of 7 from beyond the arc – that kept them in it. If WSU wants to win this, it will have to tighten up the defensive end, with Stanford 11 of 22 at the half. We’ll be back after it’s over with a post for you to use to comment. Till then …