Nov. 19, 2004
OAKLAND, Calif. - Chris Hernandez scored nine of his 30 points in overtime and new coach Trent Johnson won his Stanford debut, 93-83 over San Francisco on Friday night in the season opener for both teams at the Pete Newell Challenge.
Hernandez made 17 of 18 free throws, and Dan Grunfeld added 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Cardinal won their 17th straight season opener. They remained undefeated in this event at 7-0.
San Francisco sixth-year senior John Cox scored a career-high 33 points, including 11 straight in the final 1:50 of regulation. The Dons tied it on three straight free throws by Tyrone Riley with 11 seconds left, and Hernandez then dribbled the ball out of bounds - but Cox missed a 15-footer from the baseline at the buzzer.
Riley added 21 points and 10 rebounds in coach Jessie Evans' first game, but the Dons committed 30 fouls and shot 34.6 percent to 52.8 for the Cardinal.
Stanford forward Matt Haryasz scored six of his 14 points in the extra period and had 11 rebounds playing on an injured left foot.
Stanford starts the season with seven away games, the school's longest stint without a home game to start a season since 1934-35. The Cardinal will return to their raucous home court at Maples Pavilion next month upon completion of the arena's $30 million facelift.
Stanford finished 30-2 last season with the No. 1 ranking, but lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Alabama - then lost star forward Josh Childress and longtime coach Mike Montgomery to the NBA.
Johnson took over the Cardinal program in May when Montgomery left after 18 seasons to coach the Golden State Warriors. Montgomery watched his old team from the front row, looking attentive in his courtside seat.
Johnson, Montgomery's assistant for three years before going to Nevada, joked that he had a play card reading "Help!" to flash Montgomery's way if things got tough.
Evans was hired away from Louisiana-Lafayette after the Dons fired coach Phil Mathews in March following nine seasons.
Cox, an all-West Coast Conference player in 2002-03, was granted a sixth season of eligibility after missing all but one game last season with a knee injury. Cox was second in the conference in scoring as a junior at almost 19 points per game, but hurt his knee in the final minutes of last season's opener.
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer