Stanford Rebounds Over ASU

January 30, 1999 / 11:21 PM EST / AP

Third-ranked Stanford escaped with a 73-63 victory over Arizona State Saturday night, thanks to a 25-point advantage at the free-throw line that left the losing coach fuming.

"We can't defend free throws. That's the problem. We just can't defend that. That's undefendable," first-year Arizona State coach Rob Evans said.

Stanford shot 35 percent from the field and made just 18 field goals (in 51 attempts), but made up for it by making 31 of 43 free throws. Arizona State was 6-for-11 at the line.

"I haven't seen it in a long time, and I can tell you, it upsets me," Evans said of the discrepancy. "That's all I'll say about it because I'm not allowed to talk about the officiating."

Stanford's Peter Sauer, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds, said the big difference in foul shooting was the result of his team's trademark aggressiveness.

"We're going to play aggressive. We're going to play strong," Sauer said. "We have a big lineup. We're just going to go for rebounds and throw the ball into the post."

Arizona State's double- and triple-teams in the post backfired once Stanford turned aggressive in the second half, Sauer said.

"Once we forced the issue, there wasn't much they could do but foul," he said.

Kris Weems and Arthur Lee added 12 points apiece for the Cardinal (18-3, 8-1 Pac-10), which sputtered offensively most of the game.

Stanford took control with a 16-0 run, regrouping after losing its first conference game and having its 13-game winning streak snapped 78-76 at Arizona on Thursday night.

The Cardinal has a one-game lead halfway through the Pac-10 season.

"I think we're in the driver's seat. It's going to be our conference to win or lose," Sauer said.

Eddie House scored 25 and Mike Batiste 21 for Arizona State (12-9, 4-5) but House managed only nine and Batiste five in the second half.

"The second half I thought we defended better," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. "We definitely defended the two key guys who were hurting us."

Bobby Lazor had just six points for the Sun Devils, his second fewest ever at Arizona State. He also had six turnovers.

Arizona State led 56-50 with 10:42 to play but didn't score for the next 8 minutes, 22 seconds, committing five consecutive turnovers during one stretch.

Stanford, meanwhile, scored 16 in a row to build a 66-56 lead with 2:11 left. Jarron Collins had five points, including a three-point play, in the run and Arthur Lee capped the outburst with two free throws.

Arizona State's drought finally ended when Mike Batiste was fouled on a 3-point try and made two of the free throws to cut the lead to 66-58 with 1:59 to go.

Down by as many as 11 in the first half and trailing 37-31 at the break, Stanford outscored the Sun Devils 8-2 to start the second half to tie it at 39 on Sauer's inside basket with 18:14 reaining. Arthur Lee's 3-pointer from the corner gave the Cardinal a 46-45 lead with 15:12 left.

But Arizona State scored six in a row to go up 54-48 on Alton Mason's layup after a Stanford turnover with 11:15 to go. House's 17-footer put the Sun Devils up 56-50 with 10:21 remaining.

That was it for Arizona State's offense, though. Stanford outscored the Sun Devils 23-7 the rest of the way.