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Men's Basketball

No Answer Early For Nastic

SEATTLE (AP) - Two days after Washington dismissed 7-foot center Robert Upshaw for an unspecified team rules violation the Huskies clearly were not prepared to face Stanford Wednesday night.

Not the case for the Cardinal. They were ready.

Anthony Brown scored 23 points and Stanford took advantage of Washington's depleted inside game for an 84-74 victory.

Upshaw, who averaged 10.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, was cut from the program Monday. Romar admitted that the team did not have enough practice time without him to adjust the defense.

"We have to tighten up defending the perimeter," he said. "We played with some different lineups. We had not been able to even practice with those lineups." Stefan Nastic, the Cardinal 7-foot center, exploited the inside in the first half. He scored 15 of his 17 points in the half, hitting 7 of 8 shots from the floor.

"You take what the defense gives you, and it worked out," Nastic said. "The big guy was definitely a factor, he's definitely a very good player, but great teams like Washington, they are always going to find players to step up."

Chasson Randle added 20 points and Marcus Allen had a career-high 12 for Stanford (15-5, 6-2 Pac-12).

Nigel Williams-Goss had 17 points to lead Washington (14-6, 3-5). Mike Anderson had 16 points and Quevyn Winters added 13.

Stanford led 36-24 at intermission and Washington could draw no closer until pulling within 10 in the final minute. The Huskies trailed by as many as 26 points in the second half.

Nastic, who had been averaging 14.0 points per game, made 7 of 8 attempts in the opening half. The Huskies double-teamed him in the second, holding him to just one basket and he fouled out with six minutes left.

That opened opportunities for Brown, who scored 15 of his 23 in the second half.

"We'd throw it in and if he gets doubled, he kicks it back out," Brown said. "We have some shooters who can put in down. I figured, they're kind of doubling on our guy who dominated in the first half, so me and Chasson had to step up in the second half and provide some offense."

The last time these teams met, Jan. 4 at Maples Pavilion, Stanford won 68-60 in overtime. In that game, the Huskies committed a season-high 19 turnovers. Sloppy play again put the Huskies in a hole early that they never dug out.

Stanford opened with a 7-4 lead by the 17-minute mark before the Huskies turned the ball over on three of their next four possessions and found themselves behind 12-5 with 15:02 left. Washington ended a nearly five-minute scoring drought with a pair of free throws by Andrew Andrews at 12:45 left.

The Huskies reduced the deficit to five points, 29-24, at 2:06, but the Cardinal then scored the final seven points -- five by Brown -- for a 36-24 lead at intermission. The Cardinal shot 55.5 percent in the half.

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NOTES: Stanford collected its first win in Seattle since a 65-51 triumph on Jan. 31, 2008. The Cardinal entered the game 3-10 overall against Washington and winless in five attempts in Seattle under head coach Johnny Dawkins … Stanford will be finished playing the Washington schools (both home and sway series) by the end of January. It’s the first time that has happened during Pac-8, Pac-10 or Pac-12 play against any conference school … Chasson Randle misfired on his first free throw attempt, snapping a streak of 20 consecutive makes. Randle opened the season with 35 straight made free throws … Randle entered the game having made only 4-24 from beyond the arc against Washington in five career games. He finished 3-6 from distance … With 15 field goal attempts tonight, Randle became the school’s all-time leader in that category, passing Todd Lichti … Anthony Brown notched his fifth 20-point game of the season and 12th of his career … Stanford last started 6-2 in conference play during the 2008 campaign, when the Cardinal won nine of its first 11 Pac-10 games … Marcus Allen scored in double figures for the second time in his career, eclipsing his previous career best of 11 points last season against Washington State … Stanford has committed 10 turnovers or fewer in 12 games. The Cardinal finished with nine miscues … Washington missed its first nine three-point attempts before finally connecting at the 7:50 mark of the second half … Michael Humphrey grabbed six rebounds (four offensive) in 12 minutes off the bench.