March 11, 2005
By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES - Bobby Jones scored 12 of his 14 points in the secondhalf, Nate Robinson also had 14 points, and No. 14 Washington overcame a poorshooting performance to beat Stanford 66-63 Friday night in the semifinals ofthe Pac-10 tournament.
The second-seeded Huskies (26-5), who have won six of their last sevengames, will face No. 8 Arizona (27-5) in Saturday's championship game. Thetop-seeded Wildcats routed fifth-seeded Oregon State 90-59 earlier Fridaynight.
Washington gained a measure of revenge against Stanford, which beat theHuskies 77-67 last Saturday to spoil their opportunity to earn a share of theregular-season conference championship for the first time in 20 years.
Washington's win total is its highest since the 1953 team finished 28-3after making the school's only Final Four appearance.
The Huskies, averaging 87.2 points and shooting 48.7 percent on the season,shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64) and were just 6-of-25 from 3-point range. Stanfordshot 23-of-54 (42.6 percent).
Matt Haryasz led Stanford (18-12) with 15 points and seven rebounds. ChrisHernandez had 13 points and six assists, and Rob Little and Jason Haas added 11points each for the Cardinal.
Robinson scored five straight points to give the Huskies a 58-52 lead with6{ minutes left. But a 3-pointer by Haas and two free throws by Haryasz cutWashington's lead to one with 2:22 to play.
But that was as close as the Cardinal would get.
Brandon Roy made a basket to make it 64-61, and tipped in a missed shot byRobinson with 15.7 seconds left to give Washington a five-point lead.
Little made a basket with 9.8 seconds to play to complete the scoring.Robinson missed a free throw a second later, and a 3-point attempt by Haas fromthe right corner that could have tied the game went in-and-out.
Hernandez made two 3-pointers during an 11-3 run that gave Stanford a 42-37lead - its largest of the game.
The Huskies responded by outscoring the Cardinal 15-6 for a 52-48 lead witheight minutes remaining, and they were on top the rest of the way. Jones hadeight points during the spurt after scoring only three beforehand.
The teams combined to commit 15 turnovers in the first 10 minutes - nine byStanford - before settling down. The Cardinal finished with 15 turnovers andthe Huskies 16.
Washington scored the game's first six points, Stanford the next nine, andneither team led by more than five points during the rest of the first half,which ended with the Huskies on top 30-27.
Little, who made the winning basket in Stanford's 60-58 first-round victoryover Washington State, sustained a cut above his right eye 5 minutes into thegame that required three stitches. He sat out nearly 9 minutes.
Robinson, who scored 29 points in Washington's 95-90 overtime win overArizona State in the first round, was held scoreless until making a 3-pointerwith 6:48 left before halftime.
Stanford is 5-3 since leading scorer Dan Grunfeld sustained a season-endingknee injury last month.