Dec. 29, 2007
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Brook Lopez scored 19 points and 12 rebounds against his hometown team, and Stanford tuned up for its Pac-10 opener by winning its seventh straight game, 55-48 over Fresno State on Saturday.
Lopez, who starred at Fresno's Memorial High School with his twin brother and Stanford teammate Robin, overwhelmed the Bulldogs (7-6) with his 7-foot size and dominating presence on both ends of the court in his first start of the season.
Brook Lopez came off the bench the previous two games after missing the first 10 because he was academically ineligible. He has shown few signs of rust, averaging 19.3 points in his three games and showing that the Cardinal (11-1) will be a contender when conference play begins next week.
The Cardinal open Pac-10 play at home on Thursday night against No. 5 UCLA and play 24th-ranked Southern California two days later. That will be a big step up in competition from a nonconference schedule that didn't include games against any ranked teams.
Stanford's winning streak is its longest since opening the 2003-04 season 26-0 in Mike Montgomery's final season as coach.
But the Cardinal will have to play much better to continue the streak next week. Stanford shot just 40 percent, committed 14 turnovers and set a season-low in points.
They led by only five with 7 minutes to go. But Anthony Goods hit a 3-pointer and Brook Lopez fed Robin for an easy basket that made it 44-34 with 5:53 to go. Robin Lopez wasn't nearly as effective as his brother, committing three turnovers and two fouls in four first-half minutes and finishing with six points and three rebounds.
Goods scored 16 points, hitting three 3-pointers and also scoring on an emphatic baseline dunk over Hector Hernandez early in the second half.
Kevin Bell scored 16 points and Eddie Miller added 10 for the Bulldogs, who open play in the Western Athletic Conference on Thursday night at Louisiana Tech.
Stanford got off to a sluggish start by missing seven of its first 10 shots and committing seven turnovers in the opening 9 minutes. But after taking a 13-6 lead, Fresno State was unable to do anything right offensively.
The Bulldogs went nearly 9 minutes without scoring, missing all nine shots and turning the ball over six times in the drought. Brook Lopez took over at the other end for the Cardinal, scoring eight of Stanford's 13 points in that stretch, helping the Cardinal take a six-point lead. Stanford led 26-21 at the half.
Fresno State made its first trip to The Farm since 1954. The schools renewed the series last year in Fresno, when the Lopez's helped the Cardinal win 69-67 in their homecoming. The Bulldogs' only win in nine tries against Stanford came in the schools' initial meeting back in 1927, a 23-21 victory.