Entry No. 7: Cardinal Hangs Tough Versus FC Barcelona Regal
Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
Release: 09/11/2011
Sept. 11, 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
No. 6: Stanford Nearly Knocks Off Assignia Manresa
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
VIC, Spain- In what figured to be its most difficult contest of a challenging six-game foreign tour, Stanford dropped a hard-fought 85-70 decision to FC Barcelona Regal on Sunday night as the host favorites outscored the Cardinal in only one period.
ACB League powerhouse FC Barcelona Regal, which defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in an exhibition game last October, outscored Stanford 26-10 in a second period that proved to be the difference.
Otherwise, the contest was extremely competitive. Stanford led 22-18 after the first 10 minutes, trimmed a 12-point deficit to three in the third period and outscored FC Barcelona Regal 24-17 during the final stanza in a furious comeback attempt.
However, FC Barcelona Regal answered every Stanford run in the second half to hang on for the win. The hosts also benefitted from a favorable performance at the foul line, making 21-23. Conversely, Stanford connected on 25-42 tries from the charity stripe.
Approximately 600 vocal fans attended the historic event, as FC Barcelona was playing its first-ever game in franchise history against a college team. The full introductions, halftime ceremony and hostile crowd added to the electric atmosphere.
Chasson Randle paced Stanford with 14 points (4-11 FG, 6-10 free throws) while pulling down three rebounds.Josh Owens added 12 points on 5-10 shooting from the field and hauled down seven rebounds. Aaron Bright also contributed 12 points (3-7 FG, 5-8 free throws).
Stefan Nastic poured in nine points (2-3 FG, 5-7 free throws), Anthony Brown tallied seven points while playing through foul trouble and Josh Huestis finished with five points and a team-high eight boards (four offensive, four defensive). Dwight Powell registered six points and six rebounds.
One night after coming within a bucket of upsetting Assignia Manresa in a 76-74 loss, Stanford looked crisp from the opening tip and appeared poised for another strong game.
Trailing 9-8 at the midway point of the first period, Stanford recorded the first of three five-point leads in the stanza following a three-point play from Nastic to make it 14-9 at the 4:21 mark.
After FC Barcelona Regal cut the lead to 17-16, Stanford scored five of the period's final seven points to hold a 22-18 advantage after one of two free throws from Powell.
FC Barcelona Regal reclaimed the lead for good at 25-24 after a pair of free throws. After Nastic knocked down two freebies at the 4:05 mark to bring Stanford within 33-30, FC Barcelona Regal closed out the period on an 11-2 run.
Trailing 44-32 at intermission, Stanford opened the third period with nine straight points. Back-to-back buckets from Owens were followed by a three-pointer from Brown, and a putback from Huestis making it 44-41 with 7:31 remaining prompted FC Barcelona Regal to call a timeout.
A three-pointer from Bright at the 3:56 mark kept Stanford within striking distance at 51-46, but the hosts countered with a 12-5 run to end the period and pushed the lead back to double digits.
The Cardinal rallied once more to begin the fourth period, turning a 63-51 deficit into a 65-59 contest following a short jumper from Randle with 7:10 left to play.
However, a 10-0 run from FC Barcelona Regal midway through the period ended any threat of a Stanford upset. The Cardinal continued to fight until the final whistle, winning the fourth period by a 24-17 margin.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
First period starters: Randle, Brown, Huestis, Andrew Zimmermann, Owens
Second period starters: Bright, Randle, Powell, John Gage, Jack Trotter
Third period starters: Randle, Brown, Huestis, Zimmermann, Owens
Fourth period starters: Bright, Randle, Powell, Gage, Owens
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins
"Another great effort by our guys tonight. We knew coming into this trip that our game against FC Barcelona Regal would be the most difficult challenge, and I believe we were focused on our assignments from the opening tip. This is one of the best teams in the world, and the opportunity to play against this group in this environment will only help us in the long run."
"Obviously, the second period proved to be the difference. I was pleased with our energy level from the outset, as I thought we matched them. Even in the final two periods when we were trailing, you could see our guys continue to scratch and claw their way back. This game was in reach up until midway through the fourth period."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FC Barcelona Regal lead assistant coach Agusti Julbe
"They played real tough basketball and were very aggressive. It is a difficult style for us to see at this point, so early in the season. I think they learned a real good lesson tonight. They have a few players who can score in different ways. Overall, this was a good game for us because they forced us to play at our top level."
"Some parts of the game, on the tactical side, were a little different against a college team. Especially with your offensive style, because it's not real structured and with the motion, it creates unpredictable situations that we must adjust to."
"We've been following your games here in Spain. I would say Randle, he is a good guard with so many skills to his game. But who impressed me was Owens, the post player. Against big guys like we have who can jump, he held his own and was able to score with no problem. So, I would say those were the two key players we discussed."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FC Barcelona Regal forward Pete Mickeal
A native of Rock Island, Ill., like Stanford's Chasson Randle, Mickeal attended Rock Island High School and first established the school's all-time scoring record before Randle shattered the mark this past season.
A second round selection by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2000 NBA Draft, Mickeal was named an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American during his senior season at Cincinnati. Mickeal signed with FC Barcelona in 2009 and led the squad to a Euroleague Basketball Championship in 2010.
"You see him (Chasson) at the end of the game,when it got tough? He just went for it. That's Rock Island right there and I love to see that. Fifteen years later, he broke my all-time scoring record, so that was great. It's great to see him. I just think he's such a great kid. Very humble. I've seen him before, but I had never met him before. To win the state championship and represent Rock Island is big."
"Rock Island is a small place but we breed basketball. Our stadium in Rock Island is bigger than our stadium that we play in at Barcelona."
"I talked to Chasson about everything I've done in the community over the last 10 years and what that's done for me. I think it's now going to be his turn to take over and figure out his responsibility in the Rock Island community after college."
"We were looking at Stanford's stats and I saw Chasson had been the leading scorer in almost every game of this trip. He's doing great things against some of the best competition of the world. The way he plays, he's aggressive and confident and it doesn't matter who he is facing. He's going for his. He has got a great coach in Coach Dawkins who will help him develop."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The basketball portion of the trip is complete, with Monday and Tuesday reserved for sightseeing of landmarks in Barcelona. The team will return to the United States on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Stay tuned to www.gostanford.com for further updates.