SAN DIEGO (AP) – Whew! And wow!
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Saturday, March 17
The Cardinal advance thanks to balance, balance, balance. The Collins twins, Jason and Jarron, combined for 37 points and 15 rebounds, while Casey Jacobsen showed his All-American self again with 21 big points.
The Cardinal survived a scare as Marvin O'Connor had 37 points. O'Connor, who hit 15-of-20 from the floor, was sensational and is one of the most underrrated players in America. A lot of people don't know who O'Connor is, but he can shoot the rock, baby.
In the end Stanford's size up front and ability to play smart basketball, turning the ball over only 10 times, were key differences. Also, the Cardinal hit 31-of-37 free throws to only 15-for-20 from St. Joseph's. That's a huge margin.
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The top-seeded Stanford Cardinal proved they can win a
second-round NCAA Tournament game, surviving a 90-83 thriller
against No. 9 St. Joseph's and its phenomenal guard tandem Saturday
night.
The Cardinal had their hearts in their throats in the closing
minutes, afraid they might get bounced out in the second round for
the third straight year.
"I'm relieved," coach Mike Montgomery said after catching his
breath. "I feel a lot of emotion, because I thought we deserved to
keep playing."
Stanford can qualify for its second Final Four in four seasons
without having to leave the California. It advances to face
fifth-seeded Cincinnati in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday
in Anaheim. Cincinnati beat No. 13 Kent State 66-43.
Even as they celebrated, the Cardinal marveled at the team that
almost sent them away for the year.
"We took a pretty good shot there from a very good St. Joseph's
team. They were superb," Montgomery said. "We had to really work
to get a win. It's a great win."
Stanford made all 10 of its free throws in the final 45.1
seconds, six by senior forward Jarron Collins and four by senior
swingman Ryan Mendez, the nation's best free-throw shooter.
Hawks junior guard Marvin O'Connor tied his career high with 37
points, including five 3-point shots, before fouling out with 11.9
seconds left. He got a rousing ovation from the Cox Arena crowd –
even the Stanford fans stood and cheered. St. Joe's backers chanted
"Mar-vin! Mar-vin!"
O'Connor's clutch 3-pointers helped bring the Hawks back from a
10-point deficit with 15:52 left, but they went 1:20 without
scoring while Stanford padded its lead at the line, and they
committed some crucial turnovers in the closing seconds.
"I'd never heard of him before we drew St. Joseph's," said
Stanford All-American swingman Casey Jacobsen. "That was the most
amazing performance of anyone I've guarded. I worked my butt off
out there to try to be where he was.
"When a guy gets that hot, it's hard to shut him off."
St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said it was "the hardest dressing
room that I've ever been in. There was a lot of raw emotion in
there. They were sad.
"College basketball was served well tonight," Martelli said.
"That was a shining example of what college basketball is supposed
to be."
O'Connor, who scored 18 points in the closing minute of a 91-90
loss to La Salle this season, said he thought the Cardinal might be
tightening up as the Hawks made their run.
"But down the stretch, they showed their maturity. They are a
great team."
Jason Collins scored 22 points and Jacobsen 21 for Stanford
(30-2), which tied the school record for victories in a season.
St. Joe's other guard, freshman Jameer Nelson, added 14 points,
nine rebounds and nine assists as the Hawks finished 26-7.
Stanford matched the school record for wins set by the 1997-98
team, which finished 30-5 after reaching the Final Four.
It was after that Final Four – the school's first since winning
the national title in 1942 – that its second-round problems began.
First came an upset loss to Gonzaga, then a loss to North Carolina
last year, when Stanford was the No. 1 seed in the South.
"To get past it, it takes a huge burden off our chest,"
Jacobsen said.
Still, the Hawks of the Atlantic 10 Conference almost sent the
three-time Pacific-10 champions home early again.
O'Connor made three 3-pointers to key an 18-7 run that gave the
Hawks their first lead of the game, 59-58. His 3 from the right
corner with 10:42 to play pulled the Hawks within a point and sent
the players on the bench leaping into the air and their fans into a
frenzy.
Alexandre Sazonov made a layup the next time down the floor for
the 59-58 lead.
O'Connor made two more shots, one a 3-pointer, and Damian Reid
converted a three-point play for the Hawks' biggest lead, 67-62
with 8:25 left.
But Stanford came back behind seven points from Jason Collins,
and soon it was the Cardinal doing the celebrating after a steal
and fast-break stuff by Julius Barnes gave them an 80-76 lead with
2:34 to play.
As a timeout was called, Barnes' teammates mobbed him near
halfcourt.
"We fought, we battled, we lost a lead and we brought it
back," Stanford guard Michael McDonald said.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
St Josephs (Penn.) Clubhouse
Stanford Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Stanford coach Mike Montgomery is relieved to come away with the victory (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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Despite the score, Coach Phil Martelli felt his St. Joe's team didn't lose (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Stanford's Casey Jacobsen is expecting teams to get more physical against them (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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