Feb 26, 2004
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By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - When the ball hits the backboard and bounces in for a baseline 3-pointer, you know things are going right.
Josh Childress did just that on the way to scoring 12 points in No. 1 Stanford's school-record 24th straight victory, 73-47 over Oregon State on Thursday night.
Childress, a junior All-America candidate, also had five assists, two rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot for the Cardinal, who remained one of two unbeaten teams in Division I.
Point guard Chris Hernandez isn't surprised the Cardinal are getting the breaks such as that shot by Childress - he says that's what happens when you play good defense.
"We had one of those and we also had a bank shot," he said. "That's all sparked from our defense. I think the general consensus was the last time we played this team we came out pretty flat. We wanted to make a statement."
Hernandez scored 11 of his 13 points in the first 11 minutes and went 3-for-4 from 3-point range as the Cardinal (24-0, 15-0 Pac-10) built a big lead early. Third-string swingman Fred Washington scored a career-high 11 points and Stanford shot 52.8 percent.
No. 2 Saint Joseph's is 25-0.
David Lucas had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Oregon State (11-14, 5-10), which had won three of four following a six-game losing streak. The Beavers lost their 11th straight at Maples Pavilion and couldn't handle Stanford's stingy man-to-man defense.
Oregon State's 47 points were a season-low, one less than the Beavers scored in their first loss to Stanford last month.
"Defensively, those guys were everywhere," Oregon State guard Chris Stephens said. "They were in all of our passing lanes, they blocked our shots, they disrupted us in transition."
Some fans in the raucous sellout crowd of 7,391 waited outside in the rain almost two hours before tipoff trying to get a ticket. Here's how seriously they take hoops here: Longtime season ticket-holder Bill Preston, a business major at the school decades ago, was the first to notice a mistake on the halftime stat sheet and the official scorer quickly made the fix.
The Cardinal have already won their fourth conference title in six seasons and they host Oregon in their final home game Saturday, trying to go 14-0 at Maples this season.
Only twice in the 36-year-history of the arena has Stanford gone undefeated at home - in 1988-89 and 1996-97. The Cardinal have a 17-game home winning streak against the Ducks, who blew a 19-point second-half lead when the teams played last month in Eugene.
Stanford coach Mike Montgomery liberally used his bench, something the 18th-year coach believes is important at this stage of the season to keep players from becoming fatigued.
"I think we have a lot of respect for each other," Washington said. "We all know we can play. There's no weak link on this team."
Backup point guard Jason Haas made his first field goal since Feb. 5, a span of four games, when he hit a 3-pointer at the 9:53 mark in the first half.
Stanford began the game 10-for-16 from the field, to 3-of-17 by the Beavers. Oregon State shot 28.6 percent in the half and fell behind 38-22 at halftime, but held a 35-31 rebounding edge.
The game wasn't televised, as Fox Sports Net Plus opted for the California-Oregon game, two teams playing for sole possession of fourth place in the Pac-10.
"I really think these kids don't concern themselves about that," Montgomery said. "These aren't kids who go home and watch ESPN from dawn to dusk. They aren't consumed with it."
Senior forward Justin Davis had an MRI on his injured left knee Thursday and is expected to miss two more weeks for the Cardinal.
"It's healing. Two more weeks," Davis, averaging 11.5 points and 6.9 rebounds, said before the game.
Team doctor Colin Eakin deferred all questions to Davis.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Davis should be ready in time for the Pac-10 tournament beginning March 11 in Los Angeles.
He bruised a bone and partially tore the medial collateral ligament in his knee against the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore., on Jan. 29. Doctors said he would miss at least three weeks.