Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huskies chomp on Cardinal, advance



 (The Spokesman-Review)
John Nadel Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Bobby Jones scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, Nate Robinson also had 14 points, and No. 14 Washington overcame a poor shooting performance to beat Stanford 66-63 Friday night in the semifinals of the Pac-10 tournament.

The second-seeded Huskies (26-5), who have won six of their last seven games, will face No. 8 Arizona (27-5) in Saturday’s championship game. The top-seeded Wildcats routed fifth-seeded Oregon State 90-59 earlier Friday night.

Washington gained a measure of revenge against Stanford, which beat the Huskies 77-67 last Saturday to spoil their opportunity to earn a share of the regular-season conference championship for the first time in 20 years.

Washington’s win total is its highest since the 1953 team finished 28-3 after making the school’s only Final Four appearance.

The Huskies, averaging 87.2 points and shooting 48.7 percent on the season, shot 40.6 percent (26 of 64) and were just 6 of 25 from 3-point range. Stanford shot 23 of 54 (42.6 percent).

Matt Haryasz led Stanford (18-12) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Chris Hernandez had 13 points and six assists, and Rob Little and Jason Haas added 11 points each for the Cardinal.

Robinson scored five straight points to give the Huskies a 58-52 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left. But a 3-pointer by Haas and two free throws by Haryasz cut Washington’s lead to one with 2:22 to play.

But that was as close as the Cardinal would get.

Brandon Roy made a basket to make it 64-61, and tipped in a missed shot by Robinson with 15.7 seconds left to give Washington a five-point lead.

Little made a basket with 9.8 seconds to play to complete the scoring. Robinson missed a free throw a second later, and a 3-point attempt by Haas from the right corner that could have tied the game went in-and-out.

Hernandez made two 3-pointers during an 11-3 run that gave Stanford a 42-37 lead – its largest of the game.

The Huskies responded by outscoring the Cardinal 15-6 for a 52-48 lead with eight minutes remaining, and they were on top the rest of the way. Jones had eight points during the spurt, after scoring only three beforehand.

The teams combined to commit 15 turnovers in the first 10 minutes – nine by Stanford – before settling down. The Cardinal finished with 15 turnovers and the Huskies 16.

Washington scored the game’s first six points, Stanford the next nine, and neither team led by more than five points during the rest of the first half, which ended with the Huskies on top 30-27.

Robinson, who scored 29 points in Washington’s 95-90 overtime win over Arizona State in the first round, was held scoreless until making a 3-pointer with 6:48 left before halftime.