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STANFORD, Calif. (AP)- Washington looked frantic and out of sync, a team dearly missing injured starting point guard Abdul Gaddy and the rhythm he brings.
This time, Stanford pushed the tempo for much of the night and pulled off a mighty upset in the process.
Josh Owens scored the go-ahead basket on a left-handed tip-in with 29 seconds left and the Cardinal stunned No. 17/18 Washington in a thrilling 58-56 win Thursday night to stay unbeaten at home this season.
"I just went up and tried to make a play. I personally thought the shot was going in, and then the guard got a position on my man under the basket and I got a portion that rolled," Owens said of his putback.
Scott Suggs missed a baseline 3-pointer moments later for Washington after he knocked down a tying 3 with 1:08 left. Stanford's Jeremy Green was whistled for a foul against Justin Holiday on the rebound, but Holiday missed both free throws with 2.5 seconds on the clock- the second on purpose with hopes of giving his team another chance.
The Huskies (12-4, 4-1 Pac-10) caught a break when Dwight Powell was called for traveling on the rebound, giving them the ball back for one final try. Holiday missed a long jumper from the right wing as the buzzer sounded.
Owens had 14 points and Green added 12 for Stanford (10-5, 3-1) in the biggest victory yet for third-year coach Johnny Dawkins. It was the Cardinal's first game against a ranked opponent this season.
"I hadn't thought about that. I don't really look at them that way," Dawkins said of where this win ranks for him on The Farm. "I'm just really proud of our guys' effort for 40 minutes. I thought we played hard. I think we protected the home court very well."
Stanford is 8-0 at home in Maples Pavilion for the program's best start on its home floor since going 14-0 at Maples during a 26-0 start in 2003-04.
Powell had 11 points and seven rebounds for Stanford, including a key putback with 1:44 to play.
Holiday finished with 15 points, including eight straight early in the second half after going 0 for 5 in the opening 20 minutes. Isaiah Thomas added 14 points and seven assists for the Huskies, who couldn't hold an 11-point lead with 8:55 left and had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Venoy Overton's layup with 8:55 remaining put Washington ahead 51-40, but Stanford kept chipping away by creating second and third opportunities on offense.
Jarrett Mann's dunk with 6:02 left pulled the Cardinal within 51-48. Anthony Brown followed with a putback and Green hit a go-ahead 3 the next time down to make it 53-51 with 3:47 left. Washington called timeout, then tied it on Holiday's jumper at 3:23.
The cold-shooting Huskies had their Pac-10 winning streak snapped at 11 games, held to their lowest scoring total of the season and 36.2 percent shooting from the field.
Thomas' three-point play with 10:37 left put Washington ahead 49-38 for its first double-digit lead. Washington never looked in sync early and couldn't convert when it counted. Stanford ended a six-game skid in the rivalry.
This marked Washington's first game since coach Romar acknowledged one of his players is being investigated by police following an allegation last weekend.
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Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins
Opening Statement:
"We were down 11 points in the second half, but we showed a lot of character. I thought we came down, we executed and we were able to work our way back into the ball game. I commend Washington, they are well coached. I think we just did a good job on every possession, on defense. We tried to make it as difficult as we could to let them get any baskets."
On Washington losing Abdul Gaddy for the year:
"You could tell that they're still working some of the kinks that they have to work out for their team. But they are a terrific team. They have a lot of depth. They have many quality players that come in and make contributions. We saw that tonight."
On Stanford's defense:
"I'm just really proud of our guys' effort for 40 minutes. I thought we played hard. I think we played with the home court very well, and we still have the chance to get better. That's what we've been talking about. Playing the game and continuing to improve."
On the crowd:
"I also thought our crowd was tremendous tonight, especially our students. Their support really made a difference and provided us with a boost at points in the second half when we needed to bounce back."
Junior Jeremy Green
On where this win ranks:
"I haven't really thought of this as the biggest win. It just feels good to finally beat them. Ever since I was a freshman, we haven't got the win. It just feels good to get the win. I'm proud of our team, glad that we were able to come out here and compete."
On how Stanford won tonight:
"Defense. That's how we win games. They average about 89 points a game, and we held them to 56. It was the defensive rebounds."
Junior Josh Owens
On the game-winning shot:
"I just went up and tried to make a play. I personally thought the shot was going in, and then the guard got a position on my man under the basket and I got a portion that rolled."
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Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar
Opening Statement:
"Give an awful lot of credit to Stanford. They did a real good job of defending us. They didn't quit when we were up 11 with 10 to go. They ended up coming out with a victory. We failed to box out at the end; we missed free throws and layups and had some turnovers that were very costly at the seven or eight minute mark. We weren't able to turn it around at the end."
On going with Thomas on the inbounds play with 1.1 seconds left:
"He (Thomas) leads the league in assists. We were trying to get it over the top (to Holiday). They did a good job of defending him. Holiday just went a little soft on that last shot. He makes those all the time. We had called something to run, we didn't quite get it, so we penetrated. We found him (Holiday). He had a good look at the basket."
Did the events of the week distract the players?
"If we were down by 15, maybe, but were up 11 with 10 to go. I don't think that was an issue at all, as both teams played hard the whole game. We both missed a lot of layups. Things don't go the way you want sometimes."
Senior Justin Holiday:
On the last shot attempt:
"I wanted the ball. The plan was for me to get a lob, but when they helped, I didn't get that much time to shoot it. I thought that was going in, but he touched me real well. It was a little higher than I wanted to shoot. I think Owens was guarding me. They have a lot of long players."
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NOTES: Stanford defeated its first top-25 opponent since Mar. 5, 2009, when the Cardinal won at No. 21/21 Arizona State 74-64 ... Stanford's last home win over a top-25 foe was Jan. 17, 2009, when the Cardinal edged No. 22/23 California 75-69 ... Washington had won six in the row and seven of the last 10 meetings overall prior to tonight ... Washington entered the game averaging 88.9 points per game and shooting 49.1 percent overall. On Thursday night, the Huskies were limited to their lowest scoring output of the season and held to just 36.2 percent shooting ... Stanford has won 10 games in a row when leading at the half dating back to last year ... Dwight Powell scored in double-figures for the seventh time this season, chipping in with 11 points and seven boards in 33 minutes ... Stanford dished out a school-record low three assists ... The Cardinal has now forced at least 15 turnovers in 11 games this year, with Washington totaling 15 miscues ... Stanford entered the game connecting on 43.5 percent of its three-point attempts at home, but the Cardinal finished just 2-11 from long range ... Stanford has now allowed just 59.7 points per game on the year, a category that leads the Pac-10 .... Next up is Washington State on Saturday at 5 p.m. to complete the homestand.