Jan. 17, 2002
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Stanford, Calif. - Casey Jacobsen was all smiles even though he was held under his scoring average. He got a chance to run, and that was enough for him.
Jacobsen, who averaged 19.9 points coming in, and Curtis Borchardt each scored 15 points as No. 16 Stanford remained unbeaten at home with an 83-50 victory over Washington State on Thursday night.
"That was our best fast break all year, bar none," Jacobsen said. "I love running the break. You get those easy baskets and get to stretch it out. Playing halfcourt and trying to wedge in there for points really takes a lot out of you."
Stanford is the conference's top rebounding team, led by the 7-foot Borchardt, who currently averages 10.9 rebounds.
Stanford was able to get several easy baskets - 16 points in the first half on layups and dunks - to open a wide margin early. The Cardinal never trailed in the game.
Julius Barnes added 12 points as the Cardinal (10-4, 3-2 Pac-10) snapped out of a recent slump that saw them win just three of their previous six games.
"That was a nice confidence booster for us," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. "Believe it or not, we needed a confidence booster."
The fast-paced offense helped the Cardinal shoot 50 percent from the field, including a combined 11-of-16 effort from Borchardt and Barnes.
"We were running the court as well as we've done all year," Montgomery said. "We went out on the break and shared the ball. Everybody got some court time and scored some points."
J Locklier scored 12 points to lead the Cougars (4-11, 0-7), who dropped their 11th straight to Stanford. Washington State, on an overall nine-game losing streak, hasn't won since beating Texas Pan-Am 70-67 on Dec. 7.
"They killed us in transition," said Cougars guard Jerry McNair, who finished with 10 points. "They'd get the rebound and off they'd go."
The last time Stanford - the three-time defending Pac-10 champions - went 3-3 over any six-game stretch in the regular season was during the 1998-99 campaign.
The Cardinal, 6-0 at home this season, have a chance to get on a roll before next week's trip to UCLA and USC, two of the top three teams in the Pac-10. Washington, which visits Maples Pavilion on Saturday, and Washington State are the only two conference teams with overall losing records.
Stanford's current fifth-place standing after five games is unfamiliar territory. The Cardinal are perennial title contenders and have spent the last 86 weeks in the Top 25, second only to Duke's current streak of 102 weeks.
Washington State has lost its last 30 games to ranked opponents. The Cougars, who shot 36 percent from the field on Thursday, are 0-6 on the road.
Stanford continued to extend its lead throughout the second half, opening a 31-point lead with 7:34 remaining on a 3-pointer by Matt Lottich.
None of the Cardinal starters played over the final seven minutes.
"They took this game away with their running game," Washington State coach Paul Graham said. "They got out quick every time and we couldn't keep up with them."
Borchardt scored nine points in the first six minutes of the game as Stanford took an 18-6 lead. The Cougars never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The Cardinal led 42-23 at halftime.
The 23 points scored by Washington State in the first half was its lowest offensive production of the season and the fewest points allowed by Stanford in a first half.
By RICK EYMER
Associated Press Writer