Entry No. 6: Stanford Nearly Knocks Off Assignia Manresa
Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
Release: 09/10/2011
Sept. 10, 2011
Spain Previews: Players | Dawkins | San Francisco Chronicle | San Jose Mercury News
My Foreign Trip Experience: Goods | Borchardt
Entries: No. 1: Cardinal Arrives In Spain | No. 2: Royal Palace, Evening Scrimmage
No. 3: Museo del Prado, Real Madrid Game | No. 4: Day Trip To University of Murcia
No. 5: Final Day in Alicante, Off To Barcelona
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VIC, Spain- Producing the most impressive performance of its daunting six-game foreign trip to date, Stanford fell one bucket shy of stunning Assignia Manresa, dropping a hard-fought 76-74 decision to the ACB League powerhouse on Saturday night.
Anthony Brown's three-point play with 12.9 seconds remaining tied the game at 74-74, but Assignia Manresa's Justin Doellman knocked down a pair of free throws following a hard-luck foul on Chasson Randle to seal the victory.
Saturday's outing was easily the best to date for the Cardinal, which fought back from sizeable deficits in three of the four periods.
Three players scored in double figures, led by Anthony Brown's 15 points to go along with seven rebounds. Aaron Bright poured in 12 points and Josh Owens added 11 points and six boards.
Chasson Randle (nine points, five rebounds), Andrew Zimmermann (nine points, six rebounds, three assists), Josh Huestis (four points, team-best nine boards) and Stefan Nastic (seven points) also made key contributions.
Stanford faced 10-point deficits in the first and second periods before trimming the halftime deficit to 38-36. Tied at 52-52 through three periods, Stanford then erased a seven-point deficit with two minutes remaining before Assignia Manresa took advantage of a foul call in the waning seconds.
Assignia Manresa jumped out to a 10-1 lead before Nastic scored Stanford's first field goal at the 7:46 mark. The lead swelled to 10 points on two occasions, the second of which came in the final minute of the period before a three-pointer from Bright brought the Cardinal within 26-19.
Trailing 31-21 with 8:30 left in the second period, Stanford embarked on a 10-3 scoring run that concluded with a driving lay-up from Randle to make it 34-31 with three minutes left.
Bright closed out the second period with four consecutive free throws, keeping Stanford within striking distance at 38-36.
Stanford outscored Assignia Manresa 16-14 in the third quarter, and the game was tied 52-52 heading into the final stanza. Owens' tip-in following a missed free throw made it 38-38 to open the period, as the Cardinal never trailed during the 10-minute stretch. A jumper from Jack Trotter at the 1:39 mark gave Stanford its biggest lead of the game at 52-45.
The fourth quarter featured 11 lead changes, with the teams alternating one-point leads.
Assignia Manresa started to pull away late in the period, extending its edge to 74-67 with two minutes left. But two free throws from Huestis and short bucket from Bright made it 74-71 before Brown converted a three-point play.
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Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins
"I thought our kids played together all night. We made a lot of connecting plays. I thought we really defended well during some stretches of the game. There was some continuity offensively, the guys moved the ball well and spaced the floor. Guys took shots that they were capable of making, and had some success doing so. We were good on the boards, crashing the offensive boards and keeping balls alive. A lot of the aspects we have been emphasizing started to come through tonight."
"A number of guys played well for us. Despite being in foul trouble, I thought Josh Owens had a really good game and played big and strong in the second half. Aaron had good minutes. Andrew played well, diving on the floor for a few balls and finishing a few plays around the basket. I thought Chasson was solid again tonight, he handled the ball very well for us and kept the pressure on the defense. He adds another dimension to our team, something we haven't had."
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Assignia Manresa head coach Jaume Ponsarnau
"Your team did a good job of making shots when it counted tonight. The team looks to have good balance, both inside and outside. They wished to win the game, which is very important. Maybe they wished even more than us to win the game."
"They punished us with the offensive rebounds. The team plays really tough. I want to congratulate Stanford University for this game."
"The post player, Owens, looks to be very strong. He was a tough player and hard to deal with inside. My assistant liked the play of number two (Aaron Bright), he seemed to have an impact when he had possession of the ball. The number three (Anthony Brown) looks like he can shoot very well. It is a young team, yes? I think your coach is pleased."
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| Sunday, Sept. 11 | FC Regal Barcelona (ACB) in Vic |