The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
50°F
Current Conditions
Few clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

No Cakewalk For Cardinal This Time Out

Associated Press

Pac-10

Is Stanford for real? Yes, with an asterisk.

The Cardinal won what most observers believe was a bellwether game Saturday, defeating UCLA 93-80 before a raucous partisan crowd in sold-out Maples Pavilion.

It gave No. 7 Stanford (16-0, 5-0 Pac-10) its first victory over a Top 10 team, which was all the Cardinal seemingly lacked on its resume. The No. 8 Bruins (13-3, 4-2) are the three-time defending Pac10 champions.

“We knew we deserved our ranking and we showed the nation, the media, and anybody else who wanted to criticize this team that we’re for real,” Cardinal point guard Arthur Lee said. “Teams have to start fearing us when we’re on the floor.”

At the same time, the win came with a certain amount of handwringing. There were more peaks and valleys in Stanford’s performance than you’re likely to find on an EKG.

The Cardinal took a 51-33 lead into halftime and looked to hand UCLA its second straight humiliating loss in Maples. Stanford pounded the Bruins 109-61 here last season.

But it got awfully quiet with 12:40 remaining, when UCLA closed within 58-57 behind a 24-7 run. The Bruins dominated the bigger Cardinal on the offensive boards - they outrebounded Stanford 48-36, only the second team to do so - while Stanford hamstrung itself with six straight misses from the free-throw line, where it hit 92 percent in the first half.

It brought back ugly memories of blown leads against Georgia and Rhode Island, the two other ranked teams Stanford has faced this season.

“As good as UCLA is, we knew they were capable of having a half similar to the one we played to start the game,” Cardinal coach Mike Montgomery said in his team’s defense. “And one, it’s not like we’re losing leads and losing games. And two, we’re doing something right to get leads to lose.”

That’s an interesting way to look at it, but the fact is Stanford has shown an inability to put together a complete game against a quality opponent.

Nevertheless, the Cardinal made a believer out of Bruins coach Steve Lavin, whose comments must be viewed with a certain amount of skepticism. Lavin has a habit of slipping into hyperbolic soliloquies.

“They have a terrific chance to go to the Final Four, even more than (defending national champion) Arizona because of their depth,” Lavin said. “I think you have to strongly consider Stanford as a national contender.”

Lavin’s enthusiasm aside, that can’t adequately be determined until the Cardinal faces teams such as UCLA, Arizona and No. 10 Connecticut on the road.

The first test is a trip to Connecticut on Feb. 7.

Stanford 93, UCLA 80

UCLA (13-3) - Henderson 5-10 7-10 17, Johnson 6-12 5-6 20, Davis 3-5 0-0 6, Bailey 7-24 1-2 18, Watson 0-2 0-0 0, McCoy 6-14 7-14 19, Loyd 0-0 0-0 0, Knight 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-67 20-32 80.

Stanford (16-0) - Sauer 5-7 4-4 19, Van Elswyk 0-1 7-14 7, Young 4-9 6-6 14, Weems 4-11 0-0 10, Lee 3-13 8-12 17, Jar.Collins 1-2 0-0 2, Mendez 2-4 0-0 6, Moseley 3-6 0-0 7, McDonald 2-3 2-2 7, Seaton 1-2 2-3 4. Totals 25-58 29-41 93.

Halftime - Stanford 51, UCLA 33. 3-Point goals - UCLA 6-17 (Johnson 3-7, Bailey 3-9, Davis 0-1), Stanford 14-26 (Sauer 5-6, Lee 3-5, Mendez 2-4, Weems 2-6, McDonald 1-2, Moseley 1-3). Fouled out - Henderson, Davis, McCoy, Young. Rebounds - UCLA 48 (McCoy 12), Stanford 36 (Young 9). Assists - UCLA 11 (Davis 5), Stanford 16 (McDonald 4). Total fouls - UCLA 26, Stanford 26. A - 7,510.

California 92, USC 82

Thomas Kilgore scored 19 points and Michael Gill matched his career-high with 18 as the Golden Bears (6-7, 2-3 Pac-10) rebounded from successive losses to Top 10 teams to beat the Trojans (6-10, 2-4) at Oakland, Calif.

Sean Lampley added 15 points and Francisco Elson had a career-high 10 for Cal, which defeated USC for the sixth time in the past seven meetings.

Cal, coming off losses to No. 8 UCLA and No. 7 Stanford, registered a season high in points while picking up its first conference win at home this season.

The Golden Bears outshot the Trojans 52 percent to 46 percent. USC also committed 21 turnovers, leading to 23 Cal points. Kilgore had seven of Cal’s 25 assists.

Gary Johnson’s 18 points led USC, which has lost nine of its last 11 games, while Jarvis Turner added 17 and Adam Spanich had 16.

USC (6-10) - G. Williams 3-8 3-4 10, White 2-3 1-2 5, Turner 7-12 3-4 17, Ayuso 0-5 0-0 0, G. Johnson 7-16 0-0 18, Swillis 0-1 0-0 0, Spanich 4-7 4-5 16, Lakey 0-1 0-0 0, Lakey 0-1 0-0 0, Augustine 1-3 2-2 4, Trepagnier 4-4 4-4 12, Souferian 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-61 17-21 82.

California (6-7) - Gill 8-11 0-0 18, 3-6 3-3 9, K. Jones 2-3 0-0 4, Kilgore 7-13 3-7 19, Carlisle 3-10 1-2 8, Lampley 5-10 5-6 15, King 1-5 1-2 3, Elson 4-5 2-2 10, R. Jones 2-3 2-2 6, Raher 0-1 0-0 0, Stephens 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Lingle 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-67 17-24 92.

Halftime - California 38, USC 35. 3-Point goals - USC 9-24 (Spanich 4-7, G.Johnson 4-12, G.Williams 1-2, Ayuso 0-3), California 5-14 (Gill 2-2, Kilgore 2-5, Carlisle 1-3, Lampley 0-1, King 0-1 R.Jones 0-1, Raher 0-1). Fouled out - Gill. Rebounds - USC 37 (Turner 7), California 32 (Carlisle 6). Assists - USC 15 (Augustine 7), California 25 (Kilgore 7). Total fouls - USC 23, California 16.A - 8,550.