STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford's seniors are headed back to Madison Square Garden where they won it all in the NIT as freshmen four years ago. This time, they're far more experienced on basketball's March stage.
While disappointed not to be in the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinal considers itself fortunate to still be playing for something.
Anthony Brown scored a season-high 26 points as Stanford held off Vanderbilt 78-75 on Tuesday night for a berth in the NIT semifinals.
"It feels great. Obviously we were disappointed we didn't get to the NCAA Tournament," Brown said. "Like coach says, we have to keep playing. Whatever we're in, we've got to win it. That's our mindset. Seniors want to go out with a win in their last game."
Freshman Matthew Fisher-Davis, who finished with 18 points, hit a 3-pointer with 28.8 seconds remaining to pull Vanderbilt (21-14) within 77-75 but missed a long 3 under pressure from well beyond the arc in the waning seconds.
Chasson Randle hit a 3 with 1:16 left on the way to 16 points two days after a career-high 35-point performance in a second-round win against Rhode Island. Randle moved into second place on Stanford's career scoring list, but will have a good chance to become the program's leader in his next game.
"Yeah it's a little bit of the same feeling, a little bit of nostalgia going on," Randle said of returning to Madison Square Garden. "I was a freshman then and this time I'm a senior."
Stefan Nastic, who added 12 points and seven rebounds, scored a key basket with 5:30 to play that ended a stretch of five missed field goals in a span of 6-plus minutes without a basket.
With 12:40 left, Fisher-Davis was whistled for a flagrant foul when he threw an arm up into Allen's face that sent him awkwardly backward. Then at the 11:01 mark, Brown was hit with his own flagrant after he clobbered Kornet with an elbow to the face and the dazed sophomore forward had to be helped to the locker room as he struggled to walk straight. He didn't return.
"It was a basketball play, no harm intended. I wish him the best," Brown said. "Any time you hit someone in the face with an elbow, it's pretty standard (flagrant call), intent or not."
It has been a whirlwind week for the Commodores, who showed few signs of being wiped out from two games in the Bay Area in a six-day span. They won at Saint Mary's on March 18, then topped South Dakota State at home two days later before making another long trek out West.
Vanderbilt, the Southeastern Conference's top 3-point shooting team this season, knocked down 12 of 25 3s and kept it close late from long range.
"Every time they shoot from behind the arc, you think it's going in," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said.
Damian Jones, averaging a team-high 18.7 points in his three previous games for Vanderbilt, was held to eight points as the teams met for the first time since Dec. 30, 1988, in Nashville.
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NOTES: Stanford improved to 41-22 all-time in postseason play and 16-5 in eight NIT appearances … Stanford will face the winner of Wednesday's quarterfinal game between Old Dominion and Murray State in the semifinals next Tuesday in New York ... Stanford is one of four Pac-12 schools (Arizona, Colorado, Oregon) to have appeared in four consecutive postseasons … The Cardinal will be making its third trip to Madison Square Garden in four seasons and sixth visit to New York since 2011 … The Cardinal is 3-0 all-time against Vanderbilt … Stanford finished 16-3 at home this season and is 92-30 at Maples Pavilion under head coach Johnny Dawkins … Chasson Randle (2,326 career points) is 11 away from becoming Stanford’s all-time scoring leader and passing record holder Todd Lichti. On Wednesday night, Randle also passed UCLA’s Lew Alcindor and now ranks fourth all-time in conference history … Anthony Brown notched his sixth 20-point game of the season and 13th of his career. Brown had 17 points at halftime, a total he had not reached overall in 12 consecutive games … Marcus Allen was 5-10 from the foul line, becoming the fourth different Cardinal player to attempt 10 free throws over the last two games combined … Rosco Allen was 1-8 from the field but contributed seven points and seven rebounds … Vanderbilt traveled approximately 9,130 total miles in their two Northern California trips during the NIT.
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Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
“We’re excited to be heading to New York. It was a heckuva ballgame. We expected that. They’re a terrific shooting team. Every time they shoot the ball from behind the arc, you think it’s going in. Every time we were able to build a lead, they were always able to make a run and come back. It says a lot about his group and our group that each time they did we were able to make a run and respond. Really proud of the way both teams played.”
“Anthony had 17 in the first half. That really helped us and energized our guys. We knew that was coming. He had a stretch of games where he didn’t score as well as he is capable. It was a matter of time. When he plays like that, he’s one of the best players in America.”
“Tough call on the flagrant foul. It’s part of basketball. Whenever someone gets hit in the face, it’s a tough call. It goes from a possibility of us shooting free throws to them shooting and getting the ball back. I’m glad we were able to respond to that by staying focused and not getting completely out of rhythm.”
“We wanted Stefan to take the challenge of guarding Damian Jones. I told Stef that here’s an up-and-coming big man who’s thought of as probably an NBA prospect. I just challenged Stef. He did a good job of concentrating and keeping him off the block.”
“They say scorers are born. I think with Chasson, he just has an ability to put the ball in the basket. He capitalizes on everything you give him. He’s hard to stop.”
Stanford Senior Anthony Brown
“Last game I can think about off the top of my head would be Texas. It’s been a while since I’ve been that efficient in all areas of the game. It feels great. Obviously we were disappointed that we didn’t get into the NCAA Tournament, but like coach says, we just have to keep playing. A lot of teams who are in the first round of the NIT maybe seem like they didn’t want to be there. We just want to play and we want to compete. Whatever we’re in, gotta win it. That’s our mindset. The seniors obviously want to go with a win in their last game. For the underclassmen, their time is coming up real soon, so it’s good experience for them. In the near future, they’ll be the leaders of this program.”
“It’s a similar feeling to reaching the NIT three years ago. But for me, I was so young, I was just following the older guys like Josh Owens and Andrew Zimmermann. Now, as an older guy, I Iook at it a little bit different. I’m not as giddy.”
Stanford Senior Chasson Randle
“I’m just happy we got this win. Last time on this court, we thought it was our last game on our home court and we didn’t come out with a win. I thought it was a great team effort and a lot of guys stepped up tonight. It took a lot of heart. Things weren’t always going our way. Their guys stepped up and made a lot of big shots and kept fighting. I think the younger guys look at us to make plays and we have to do that in order for our team to win. I lean on those guys all the time to pull me up. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”
“There are only a few teams who can say they won their last game of the season and we want to be one of those teams. We were a little bit disappointed we didn’t make it into the NCAAs, but we had an opportunity and we wanted to make the best of it and I think we’re doing that right now. Madison Square Garden is a special place. Any time you can in there and say you played a basketball game, it’s definitely an honor.”
“Of course you want to win the game first and foremost. To be able to accomplish something like that (becoming Stanford’s all-time leading scorer) would be amazing as well.”
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
“Stanford is a very good foul shooting team, and we didn't have a lot of options in terms of guys to foul. We were just trying to press and get some deflections. We got a couple turnovers, we got them to miss some free throws there late. But we didn't get a great look when we were down three (Matthew Fisher-Davis).”
“We never could get the stops that we needed to get on top of the game. You have to give credit to Stanford for that. They just played better than we did, and their defense was better than our defense was. We were competing hard but we got beat by a better team.”
“We had two shots to get it tied; unfortunately we didn't hit either one. That's the nature of the game. Our guys didn't stop playing hard all year long, and I knew they weren't going to stop playing hard during that stretch either.”
“That would have been a nice place to get Luke Kornet into the game because he's a "big" that can stretch it out and shoot it. He got his bell rung pretty good on the concussion -- he got his head hit on the way up. When we were down three near the end and needed a three-point shot, it would have been nice to have another option like him on the court.”
Vanderbilt Freshman Matthew Fisher-Davis
“I was coming off my stronger side, they made a good play getting me in a trap. I felt it was going in when I shot it, but it just didn't. Kornet being out hurt us a lot. He's a big piece, especially on offense. He causes a lot of matchup problems. He was another rebounder that we needed. I love the fight in our guys. We'll be back next year.”