January 29, 1999
Audio Clips
Montgomery on Arizona crowd.Montgomery on first Pac-10 loss.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Coach Lute Olson's winning play against Stanford wassimple. Give the ball to Jason Terry and get everybody else out of the way.
The Arizona point guard's spinning, soft 12-foot jumper with 3.4 seconds toplay gave the 13th-ranked Wildcats a 78-76 victory over the No. 3 CardinalThursday night, Stanford's first Pac-10 loss of the season.
"There aren't a whole lot of guys I've ever coached that I'd want to takethe last shot more than JT," Olson said.
Even a sick JT. Terry still was bothered by the stomach problems thatplagued him last Saturday in Arizona's upset loss at Oregon State.
"The last two minutes of the game my stomach was in knots," Terry said."I really felt queasy out there."
Terry knew he was going to take the last shot.
"I wasn't going to give it up this time," he said. "I wanted this onereally bad. I'm a senior and it was my turn to step up. My teammates playedwell. I needed to reward them."
Terry, who became Arizona's career steals leader in the game, scored 29points as the Wildcats won their 25th in a row at home and snapped Stanford's13-game winning streak.
"We know it's going to be a game from hell when we come to Arizona,"Stanford's Peter Sauer said. "Last year we got run out here, and I've only wononce in my years here."
A.J. Bramlett, whose two missed free throws cost a victory at Oregon STate,made all six of his foul shots in the last four minutes against Stanford. TheWildcats (14-3, 6-2 Pac-10) were 11-for-12 from the line in the final 4:23.Terry and Bramlett, Arizona's two seniors, were a combined 16-for-16.
After Terry's last basket, Stanford (17-3, 7-1) called timeout and got theball to Kris Weems, but his desperation 3-pointer under pressure from 35 feetunder pressure fell 10 feet short of the rim.
Stanford's Jarron Collins, a 56 percent free-throw shooter, made two with11.5 seconds to go to tie it at 76. The second free throw came after officialsstopped play and Olson took the arena microphone and urged an unknown fan toput away a laser gun.
"Fans, we don't want anyone hurt on the court," he said. "Whoever has thelaser just put it away and yell for the Cats."
Bramlett had 16 points and Richard Jefferson 12 for Arizona, while Weems had18 and Peter Sauer 15 for the Cardinal.
Stanford's guard duo of Weems and Arthur Lee were a combined 8-for-25 fromthe field. Weems was 6-for-14 and Lee 2-for-11.
Because Lee had four fouls, Weems defended Terry down the stretch. OnArizona's final possession, Terry took the ball into the key, made a 360-degreespin and floated up for the jumper.
"We knew this would be tough, especially in this atmosphere, with thiscrowd," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. "I don't think we played verywell defensively."
The capacity crowd was louder than usual throughout the game and fans rushedthe court after it was over.
Nobody could remember that happening since 1985, Olson's second season, theyear he turned the Wildcats around. Arizona is 166-10 at home since the 1987-88season. But this was a game the Wildcats weren't favored to win.
"How long has it been since we've been an underdog at home?" Olson said."It's been a long, long time."
The Wildcats, averaging just under 18 turnovers a game, had only six,compared with 12 for Stanford. Terry, the point guard, had only one.
Stanford trailed by 13 in the first half before cutting the lead to 40-36 atthe break.
A 9-0 run gave Stanford a 48-46 lead with 15:56 to play. The last fourpoints came after a technical was called on Olson's assistants. The Arizonacoach and his staff had been vehemently criticizing the officials throughoutthe game.
Arthur Lee made both free throws, then the Cardinal took the ball out ofbounds and got the ball inside to Sauer for the go-ahead basket.
Weems' 3-pointer with 3:06 left put Stanford ahead 72-68. But Arizona scoredeight consecutive points, including four by Bramlett, to go ahead 76-72 with 56seconds remaining.
Weems' two free throws and two more by Collins tied it and set up the wildfinish.
Arizona's last home loss was 66-64 to UCLA on Feb. 13, 1997. The Wildcats'last six games have been decided by total of nine points.
By BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer