Stanford Win Is Fling of Beauty

There was pandemonium all around, but at the bottom of the pile it was bliss.

Stacks of folding chairs lay flattened on the court in the wake of a crowd that stormed the floor after Nick Robinson stole the ball, took two dribbles across half court and made a long, floating leap to launch a 30-foot three-point shot at the buzzer that kept Stanford’s season perfect.

Down by four points in the final minute, No. 2 Stanford scored seven points in 44 seconds for an 80-77 victory over No. 12 Arizona on Saturday to remain undefeated and tie a school record with its 20th consecutive victory.

Stanford alumnus Tiger Woods, who had been seated courtside at Maples Pavilion with fiancee Elin Nordegren, rushed into the fray at first, then retreated.

Gerry Plunkett, the wife of former Stanford and NFL quarterback Jim Plunkett, was helped off the court, insisting she was fine after her foot was caught in a chair.

At the center of it all, flat on his back under a crush of fans, was Robinson.

“I was OK,” he said. “A couple of people were in different spots that were a little dangerous, so after a while we asked people to get off. But it was great.”

It was a stunning end to a game of intense swings, and it might have gone to overtime if officials had seen Stanford point guard Chris Hernandez behind the play, signaling for a timeout after Robinson’s steal with three seconds left.

“Thank God they didn’t see me,” said Hernandez, who led the Cardinal with 20 points, made three of four three-point attempts and added five assists and three steals.

Stanford (20-0, 11-0) led by 13 points in the first half but fell behind by five in the final minutes as Arizona (14-6, 6-5) tried to avoid losing for the third time in its last four games.

“It’s a difficult game to sit up here and talk about,” Arizona Coach Lute Olson said after losing a game in which both teams shot 50% or better.

For Stanford, it was only the latest in a series of improbable victories.

“I’m starting to think this group might be something special,” Coach Mike Montgomery said. “That was just an unbelievable game.”

Last month, the Cardinal won at Arizona State on a tip-in by Josh Childress in the final seconds.

Last week, Stanford came from 19 points behind to win at Oregon.

This time, the Cardinal won without starting forward Justin Davis, who is out because of a knee injury, and sixth man Matt Haryasz, out because of an ankle injury.

The hero at the end was Robinson, a 24-year-old forward who came to Stanford in 2000 after spending two years on a Mormon mission in Brazil.

It was Robinson who cheated off his man to make the steal from Salim Stoudamire while teammate Matt Lottich bumped and guarded Stoudamire, who was working for the final shot.

Robinson knocked the ball loose as Stoudamire dribbled into a triple-team of defenders that included center Rob Little. Robinson came out of the pack with the ball and took off for his breakaway final shot.

Olson wanted fouls called on Stanford’s aggressive defense in the final moments, but Montgomery had told his players to push hard and not worry about fouling, because Stanford still had a foul to give before Arizona would go to the line for a one-and-one.

That and the unexpected full-court press Stanford sprang on Arizona in the final minutes helped shake free a victory.

With Stoudamire -- who started the Arizona comeback with a running three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer -- seemingly scoring at will late in the game, Arizona took a four-point lead on his three-pointer with 1:01 left.

But when Lottich missed a three-pointer with 46 seconds left, Childress grabbed the offensive rebound and a foul was called on Arizona’s Hassan Adams, with Olson infuriated by the officiating.

Olson also complained about the no-calls despite the bumping on the final Arizona possession.

“I guess three people in the place [the three officials] didn’t see it,” Olson said. “They had a foul to give, but when you make it that obvious they should call it.”

Childress, who finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, cut the lead from four points to three by making one of two free throws with 44 seconds left.

Then Stanford -- for so many years vulnerable to Arizona’s pressure defense -- sprung a full-court press on the Wildcats, and Lottich came up with a steal.

A three-pointer by Childress tied the score, 77-77, with 23 seconds left, setting up the final sequence.

“We wanted to get the last shot inside four seconds, and we wanted to put the ball in Stoudamire’s hands,” Olson said.

“We just really messed it up. We had a four-point lead, but obviously we got pushed very hard.”

Stanford will press on, trying not to become overwhelmed by the possibility of going undefeated. (St. Joseph’s is the nation’s only other unbeaten team.)

“We have a little deal that we really don’t think we’re going to be undefeated, but at the same time, we’re not going to lose our next game,” Montgomery said. “We kind of laugh about it.”

Hernandez nodded his agreement.

“I think that’s a good motto.”