Stanford failed to handle Ivan Radenovic, and that ultimately led to Arizona’s 85-80 overtime victory in the final regular season men’s basketball contest for both teams.
But what a spectacular second-half recovery for the Cardinal (10-8 in the Pac-10, 18-11 overall), which came roaring back after trailing by 20 points. Kenny Brown hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 71, giving Stanford an extra breath of air.
Radenovic scored six of his career-high 37 points in the final two minutes of overtime though, and Arizona recorded 20th straight 20-win season.
Radenovic scored 16 points in the first half as Arizona (11-7, 20-9) built a 20-point lead.
Radenovic tried to hold Stanford (18-11, 10-8) off, scoring all nine Wildcats points in a nearly eight-minute stretch late in the second half.
Brown, who made the team as a walk-on last year, provided a big spark for Stanford after starting point guard Mitch Johnson was unable to play in the second half because of food poisoning. Brown scored 17 points after halftime, including his game-tying 3-pointer.
But the Cardinal could never get the lead in overtime, with their best chance coming when Brook Lopez made only one of two foul shots with Stanford down by one with 1:53 to go.
Radenovic answered with a basket inside to put Arizona up 80-78. He then added four free throws down the stretch to ice the game for the Wildcats.
Lopez scored 21 points and Lawrence Hill added 20 for Stanford, which will be the sixth seed in the conference tournament. But the Cardinal figure to be a good bet to make the NCAA tournament based on its winning record in the Pac-10 and five wins against ranked opponents.
Stanford trailed by 19 at halftime but rallied back with a 15-4 run early in the second half to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the opening minutes. Hill's 3-pointer with 10:29 to go capped the run and cut Arizona's lead to 53-45.
Radenovic answered with a three-point play and then a jumper to put Arizona back up 65-56 with 6:36 to go. Stanford got it down to four again a minute later, but once again Radenovic responded with a driving basket.
The Cardinal never led in the game and didn't tie it until Brown's 3-pointer in the final seconds.
The Cardinal, already playing without second leading scorer Anthony Goods, was hurt even more by a bout of food poisoning that hit starters Johnson and Fred Washington, as well as three reserves this week.
Johnson and Washington needed intravenous fluids before the game just to be able to play. Both players struggled, scoring just two points for the game. Johnson sat out the entire second half.
The Cardinal missed 16 of its first 20 shots and was being outscored 16-13 by Radenovic over the first 15 minutes. The frustration got to coach Trent Johnson, who was called for a technical foul with 9:15 remaining in the half. That failed to spark the Cardinal, which went into the break trailing 41-22.
Send this story
Print this story
