Jan. 29, 2005
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford has its swagger back.
Matt Haryasz had career highs of 20 points and 20 rebounds, and the surgingCardinal won their sixth straight game Saturday with an 88-69 victory overOregon.
Chris Hernandez added 19 points with four 3-pointers and five assists as theCardinal (12-7, 6-3 Pac-10) improved to 6-1 at home with a rare dominantperformance reminiscent of those they had last season. Dan Grunfeld had 14points and five rebounds.
In the crazy Pac-10 Conference, Stanford moved within a game of first-placedespite losing its first three conference games. Earlier Saturday, WashingtonState stunned No. 11 Arizona 70-63 in Tucson, only two days after thefirst-place Wildcats beat 10th-ranked Washington 91-82.
Malik Hairston had 19 points and seven rebounds for Oregon, which has lostfour straight games and the last 19 meetings at Maples Pavilion. The Duckshaven't won here since an 83-69 victory on Jan. 13, 1986 - before three of thecurrent Oregon players were even born.
Aaron Brooks added 11 points off the bench for Oregon (11-7, 3-6). He didn'tstart for the first time all season after coach Ernie Kent changed his lineupin an effort to get better results.
Stanford played with impressive spirit from the start. After hitting a3-pointer late in the first half that gave him five straight points, Hernandezyelled in joy and pumped his arms as he ran back on defense. Players bumpedchests during time-outs, much to the delight of the sellout crowd, whichchanted "20-20" in honor of Haryasz in the final minutes.
Stanford, the defending Pac-10 champs who have reached the NCAA tournament'ssecond round the past 10 seasons, led by as many as 32 points. The Cardinal areexhibiting significant progress under first-year coach Trent Johnson, who saidwhen he took the job it would take time for this team to get in sync and adjustto a new coach after Mike Montgomery bolted for the NBA after 18 seasons at theschool.
If Stanford continues playing well, it could make a case to return to TheAssociated Press Top-25. The Cardinal won their first 26 games last season tofinish 30-2 and ranked No. 1.
This year's team isn't as dominant but works hard.
Haryasz grabbed 10 straight defensive rebounds in the first half, includingsix in a row during a decisive 11-0 run that gave Stanford a 37-15 lead.
Oregon's problems in the Bay Area continued two days after the Ducks lost65-62 to California in Berkeley. Dating to the 1999-2000 season, Oregon is 1-11on this annual road trip. The Ducks haven't won at Cal since Feb. 12, 2000.
Oregon has been plagued by poor performances in the first half, and theDucks couldn't match Stanford's intensity early. The Cardinal attacked thebasket, played pressure defense and controlled the rebounds. They made 10 oftheir first 15 shots to quickly build a 15-point lead.
Stanford shot 55.6 percent in the first half on the way to a 51-25 halftimelead.
Peter Prowitt, a reserve freshman center for Stanford, returned to actionafter missing Thursday's game with a sprained ankle sustained in practice lastMonday.