Stanford chalks up an easy win

Stanford took advantage of a long Arizona State scoring drought early in the game to bolster its NCAA tournament hopes with a 63-53 victory over the Sun Devils on Thursday night at Stanford.

Arizona State (7-21 overall, 1-16 Pacific 10 Conference) went nearly nine minutes without a point after scoring on the opening possession of the game and played from behind the rest of the way.

Stanford (18-10, 10-7) got the key win despite a quiet night from the Lopez twins. Brook Lopez scored just four points, ending a string of four consecutive 20-point games, and Robin had just five.

The win assured the Cardinal of finishing with a winning record in the Pac-10, with only Saturday’s home game against Arizona remaining.

With five wins against ranked opponents this season, Stanford is in good position to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament.

The Sun Devils cut a 14-point halftime deficit to seven and appeared poised to get even closer when Brook Lopez went to the bench with his fourth foul with 10:32 remaining.

But Lawrence Hill scored at the other end to start a 17-5 run. Kenny Brown then made a three-point basket after a backcourt violation by Arizona State.

Hill’s three-point basket capped the run, giving the Cardinal a 61-42 lead with just under four minutes remaining.

Arizona 70, California 65 -- Marcus Williams had 21 points and nine rebounds, Ivan Radenovic had 19 points and the Wildcats hung on at Berkeley for their 16th victory in 18 games against the Golden Bears.

Arizona (19-9, 10-7) must win Saturday at Stanford to avoid finishing with its fewest conference victories in 22 years.

Cal (14-15, 6-11) lost its third in a row despite holding the Pac-10’s highest-scoring team well under its 79.6-point average.