Gonzaga Holds Off Stanford at Finish

He doesn’t always play great defense. But then Adam Morrison blocked Chris Hernandez’s driving layup. The thwack of Morrison’s hand slapping Hernandez’s looking-good gimme was the sound of a great player shouting “We win,” with his play and not his mouth.

Morrison, the Gonzaga junior who is battling with Duke guard J.J. Redick for national player of the year honors, scored 34 points (including nine of his team’s last 10) and had six rebounds as No. 5-ranked Gonzaga beat Stanford, 80-76, at McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday night, extending its home winning streak to a nation-leading 36 straight.

The Bulldogs (20-3) didn’t take a lead until early in the second half. Guard Pierre Marie-Altidor-Cespedes scooted through the lane for a layup that gave Gonzaga a 44-43 lead and drove the sell-out crowd of 6,000 into a frenzy. From then on, neither team led by more than five points.

Stanford, which had played an important Pacific 10 Conference game Thursday at California, fought back for a 61-56 lead with 8:48 left.

But then Morrison took over. He blocked Hernandez. He had four big rebounds. He, of course, made shots. Free throws, three-point baskets, closely-guarded jump shots.

“It was my time to do something I guess,” Morrison said. “When it’s clutch time at the end of a game, I know the ball is going to be in my hands. Earlier in the game I was just forcing my shots and not letting the game come to me.”

Morrison said the Bulldogs were tight early. Students had filled the arena at 6:30 a.m. because ESPN’s GameDay program came to town, its first appearance west of Kansas in two years. “Yeah, we were a little ragged,” Morrison said.

Stanford (12-9) jumped to an 8-0 lead with the help of consecutive three-pointers by Hernandez and Mitch Johnson. The Bulldogs were a step slow defensively in the first half and the Cardinal built a 43-38 lead by shooting 58.6% from the field.

“Our team was caught up in the excitement of the game and everything that had been going on this week,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said, “so we had some tough words for them at halftime.”

It took Morrison 15 seconds into the second half to make a jump shot and another 15 to get a rebound that turned into a J.P. Batista layup. The nerves were gone for the Bulldogs and the game was on.