Nov. 19, 2010
STANFORD, Calif.- (AP) Jeremy Green had a nice talk with former teammate Landry Fields, who currently plays in the NBA with the New York Knicks. Then he went out and had a nice game.
Green scored 21 points in leading Stanford to its sixth consecutive victory over Virginia, beating the Cavaliers 81-60 Thursday night.
Freshman Anthony Brown added 13 points for the Cardinal (2-0), which had five players reach double figures in scoring.
"He gave the entire team a pep talk," Green said of the meeting with Fields. "It was great motivation just having him here. He got us hyped up."
It took a while for the Cardinal to separate themselves from the Cavaliers, who shot 60 percent in the first half and stayed close through the first 30 minutes.
"Give them credit; they were lights out," Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We did a great job of making adjustments. We wanted to speed them up or chase them off the 3."
Mustapha Farrakhan had 14 points to pace Virginia (2-1). Joe Harris added 12 and Jontel Evans had 11.
"There's a little bit of uncertainty but I like the feel of this group," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "They're willing and very composed. That's good."
The Cardinal began drawing away from the Cavaliers midway through the second half and eventually took a 21-point advantage into the last two minutes.
Andrew Zimmermann and Aaron Bright each scored 12 points and freshman Dwight Powell made all five of his shots for 10 points.
¶ Bright hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Stanford a 37-34 halftime lead.
"I'm just going to take shots when they are available," Bright said. "I'm not going to force anything."
Green hit eight of 13 shots three days after making one of seven.
"I was more patient tonight," Green said. "I let the game come to me. I was in a better rhythm."
Harris' 3-pointer early in the second half drew Virginia within 44-43 of Stanford.
The Cardinal followed with an 18-5 run and was never again in trouble.
The Cavaliers started a six-game road trip, their longest since the 1991-92 season. The games will be played in four different time zones and the team will cover 11,505 miles. They are playing without guard Sammy Zeglinski, who will miss several weeks following offseason knee surgery.
Stanford missed its first seven free throws before Gabriel Harris sank the second of two shots late in the first half.
Green was 1-for-9 on the year before hitting three straight shots, two of them from long range. He had been held to single digits in scoring for just the sixth time in two years in Monday's victory over San Diego.
Stanford took a six-point lead with 3:14 left in the first half after Zimmerman sank a 3-pointer but the Cavaliers came back to tie it at 34 when Evans sank a pair of free throws with seven seconds left, setting up Bright's 3-pointer.
Both schools lit up the nets in the first half with Virginia, which shot 50 percent or better in each of its first two games, converting 12 of 20 and the Cardinal making 15 of 26 (.577).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES: Virginia was the first ACC team to appear in Maples during the regular season since Georgia Tech was handed an 80-66 loss in the Stanford Invitational back on Dec. 19, 2000. Stanford defeated Virginia 64-49 in the first round of the 2006 NIT ... Stanford received 39 points from its bench compared to just 16 from Virginia ... The Cardinal was 13-23 from beyond the arc, good for 56.5 percent ... Stanford is now +7.5 in turnover margin after forcing Virginia into 18 turnovers ... Jeremy Green reached the 20-point plateau for the 12th time in his career ... The Cardinal placed at least five players in double-figures for the first time since all five starters accomplished the feat on Dec. 13, 2009 against UC Davis ... Stanford closes out its three-game homestand on Sunday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 5 p.m.