March 10, 2005
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rob Little scored just his second basket of the game with17 seconds left, helping Stanford rally for a 60-58 victory over WashingtonState in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament Thursday night.
The loss prevented the Cougars (12-16) from completing a three-game sweep ofthe Cardinal this season. Washington State won both regular-season meetings forthe first time since 1992-93.
Chris Hernandez led Stanford with 18 points. Matt Haryasz added 15 pointsand 12 rebounds and Nick Robinson had 13 points.
Thomas Kelati scored 20 points, including six 3-pointers, for thesixth-seeded Cougars.
The third-seeded Cardinal (18-11) will meet No. 14 Washington in Friday'ssemifinals. The second-seeded Huskies held off No. 7 seed Arizona State 95-90in overtime.
The Cardinal outscored Washington State 17-7 to start the second half andmake its way back into the game. The Cougars led all the way in the first half.
Tied at 38-all, the Cougars committed a shot-clock violation and Hernandezhit a 3-pointer to give Stanford its first lead of the game with 12:26remaining. His 3-pointer was part of a 10-point run that kept Stanford in front46-38.
The Cougars shot 80 percent from 3-point range in the first half, withKelati connecting on three in a row to start the game. But Stanford's defenseclamped down on the senior guard for much of the second half.
The Cardinal couldn't silence Kelati completely, though. He made a 3-pointer- his first basket of the second half - to get the Cougars within 52-51 with5:04 remaining. After Hernandez made two free throws, Kelati sank another3-pointer - his sixth - from near the Cougars' bench to tie the game at 54.
Robinson scored for Stanford before Kelati's 3-point try popped in and out.Teammate Chris Schlatter picked him up, though, hitting a 3-pointer with a handin his face to give Washington State a 57-56 lead with 1:12 remaining.
Robinson scored on a goaltending call against Jeff Varem to put Stanfordback in front 58-57 with 52 seconds left. Varem made one of two free throws fora 58-all tie with 41 seconds left.
After a timeout, Little powered his way inside for the go-ahead basket.Schlatter's long jumper bounced off the rim as time expired.
The teams met in the first round for the second straight year; the Cardinalwon 68-47 a year ago.
Injuries have hurt the Cardinal, with leading scorer Dan Grunfeld out forthe season because of a torn knee ligament. The team is down to eightscholarship players and one walk-on, but the Cardinal has won 12 of its last 16games.