Publication Date: Wednesday, February 02, 2005
MEN'S BSKETBALL
Stanford is within reach of first place
Stanford is within reach of first place
(February 02, 2005) Cardinal can earn share of Pac-10 lead by sweeping Arizona schools on the road
by Rick Eymer
At the halfway point of the Pac-10 men's basketball season, Stanford finds itself on the threshold of first place in the conference race.
Before the season began, there weren't too many people who thought the Cardinal would be in that position - in third place a game behind co-leaders Washington and Arizona.
Stanford put itself into that position with another pair of victories over the weekend, beating Oregon, 88-69, on Saturday after downing Oregon State, 69-65, on Thursday.
The Cardinal (6-3, 12-7) face another big test this week, visiting Arizona State (4-5, 15-6) on Thursday at 5:30 pm., and going to Arizona (7-2, 16-4) for an 10 a.m. game on Saturday.
The Sun Devils beat Stanford, 81-69, sending the Cardinal to their third straight Pac-10 loss. It was Stanford's worst conference start in 20 years.
Something happened since that defeat -- Stanford hasn't lost.
"We know we're playing better basketball," Stanford center Rob Little said. "We got things turned around beating Arizona."
The win over the Wildcats got Stanford out of the Pac-10 basement. A successful trip through Arizona this time could mean a share of the Pac-10 penthouse.
To which Trent Johnson replies: "We've got a long way to go."
Stanford has come a long way since that dreadful Thursday night in January, which ended with the Cardinal looking at a losing record at the latest point of the season since ending the 1992-93 season ended 7-23.
The Arizona trip has been successful for Stanford lately. The Cardinal have beaten the Sun Devils nine straight in Tempe, and have handed the Wildcats four straight losses in Tucson.
Stanford was a work-in-progress the moment Josh Childress declared for the NBA draft last spring. Without their All-American, the Cardinal had to start looking for another go-to guy.
What they found instead were several go-to guys, with Chris Hernandez directing the charge.
The latest to emerge is junior forward Matt Haryasz, who was a solid contributor off the bench last year. Now he's reaching new heights.
Haryasz had career highs of 20 points and 20 rebounds in the win over Oregon, Stanford's sixth straight win.
"Matt is feeling comfortable," Johnson said. "He's settled down. He's done a lot of soul-searching in terms of attitude and approach."
Haryasz' performance was the best by a Cardinal since Curtis Borchardt grabbed 21 against Arizona three years ago.
"Depth or not, every game in the Pac-10 will be scratch and claw," Haryasz said.
Haryasz was unstoppable during the first half, dominating the boards during one stretch in which Stanford scored 11 unanswered points and led by as many as 21 midway through the first half.
"Once we started league we have been pretty aggressive," Johnson said.
In a strange bit of coincidence, Stanford was outrebounded in its previous five wins. The Cardinal - Haryasz in particular - took things to heart when Johnson insisted they have to rebound better.
"We needed to focus on boxing out," Little said. "We all have to have the mentality that this is my board. We've been winning and that's what matters."
With every loose ball seemingly finding its way to Haryasz, the 6-foot-11 junior forward has recorded three consecutive double-doubles for the first time in his career.
Hernandez added 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and five assists as the Stanford improved to 6-1 at home.
The starters are all averaging over 25 minutes, with three averaging more than 30 minutes. A lot of that was a result of inexperience during the pre-season.
Jason Haas, among others, has established himself as a top player off the bench. He's been extremely productive since being force-fed against Arizona State in the wake of Hernandez's troublesome back.
Dan Grunfeld added 14 points against the Ducks and has scored in double figures in 13 straight games, the second-longest streak in the Pac-10.
"We know what kind of talent we have," Grunfeld said. "It's a matter of coming together."
Peter Prowitt, returned to action after missing Thursday's game with a sprained ankle sustained in practice earlier last week.
Against Oregon State, the Cardinal let an 18-point lead slip away before Hernandez scored Stanford's final eight points, all on free throws, en route to the win.
Hernandez, much like another capable point guard from Stanford's past (we are speaking, of course, of Brevin Knight), has a knack for the dramatic.
After settling for eight points, three assists and a rebound in the first half, Hernandez helped guide the Cardinal through the maze of uncertainty caused by Oregon State's sudden burst of energy that led to the Beavers taking a 56-55 edge with 4:33 remaining to play.
Nine minutes earlier, Haryasz scored on a short jumper to give Stanford its biggest lead of the game at 48-30.
After Oregon State took the lead, Hernandez went to work, scoring 10 of his game-high 23 points. It was his jumper at 3:11 which gave the Cardinal the lead for good and set up his free throw shooting clinic in the closing minutes.
"I thought I shot worse than what it shows," Hernandez said of his 12-of-14 effort from the foul line and 5-of-12 performance from the field.
Hernandez is shooting .545 (12-of-22) from 3-point range the past five games.
Haryasz scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Grunfeld added 15 points and a career high six assists.
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