A hot finish just enough to top hot start
PULLMAN, Wash. — Stanford and Washington State’s back-and-forth battle came down to the guards.
Despite 33 points from Chasson Randle, the Cardinal went cold late in their 89-88 loss at Beasley Coliseum on Saturday. They were bested by DaVonté Lacy, who scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half.
“I just see it as two guys trying to win the game,” Randle said. “He’s a great player, has a lot of confidence and willed his team to a win.”
Stanford had cut an eight-point Washington State lead with 1:47 to play to two points and had the ball with 36 seconds remaining. The Cardinal’s plan was to get Randle the ball coming off two screens. But Washington State defended it well, resulting in Rosco Allen attempting, and missing, a contested layup.
“I just remember that it was a lot of traffic, no real room for me to go anywhere,” Randle said. “Rosco was open at the top of the key.”
The Cougars’ Ike Iroegbu extended the lead to four points with two free throws. Stanford didn’t score again until Dorian Pickens made an irrelevant three-pointer at the buzzer.
The Cardinal missed a chance to take sole possession of second place in the Pac-12 (No. 11 Utah now plays for second at USC on Sunday). They also missed an opportunity for their first sweep of a two-game conference road trip since 2010.
Down one point at halftime, the Cardinal saw their deficit grow to eight early in the second half. But Stanford battled back, tying the game at 60-60 with 10:00 to play.
For the remainder of the game, Stanford lacked rhythm on offense. And head coach Johnny Dawkins was upset with his team’s defense during the stretch. The Cougars shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half.
“You’re not going to be hot the entire game,” Dawkins said. “The key is how you weather those stretches. I don’t think we defended as well as we should.”
Stanford was only in the game because of its scorching start. The Cardinal made 10 of their first 14 shots, including 5 of 6 three-pointers in the opening 10 minutes.
Stanford freshman Reid Travis played for the first time in nine games after a leg fracture. He scored five points and grabbed two rebounds in eight first-half minutes. He went scoreless in the second half.
The Cardinal’s quick 13-point lead faded as Washington State tightened its defense. After the 10-for-14 start, the Cardinal went 4-for-17 from the floor.
Stanford played with- out the inside scoring of Stefan Nastic, who picked up his fourth foul early in the second half. He scored 10 points after dominating in Wednesday’s win against Washington.
The scoring duties were left to Randle, who succeeded for 39 minutes but couldn’t get the ball on the key possession late.
“This is disappointing,” Randle said. “We have to regroup and try to get the one (against UCLA) on Thursday.”