University of Oregon
Stanford
Cardinal Fast Start Points to Duck Loss
01/29/05 | Men's Basketball
By JANIE McCAULEY
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) _ Stanford has its swagger back.
Matt Haryasz had career highs of 20 points and 20 rebounds, and the surging Cardinal won their sixth straight game Saturday with an 88-69 victory over Oregon.
In the crazy Pac-10 Conference, Stanford moved within a game of first-place despite losing its first three conference games. Earlier Saturday, Washington State stunned No. 11 Arizona 70-63 in Tucson, only two days after the first-place Wildcats beat 10th-ranked Washington 91-82.
Chris Hernandez added 19 points with four 3-pointers and five assists as the Cardinal (12-7, 6-3 Pac-10) improved to 6-1 at home with a rare dominant performance reminiscent of those 
they had last season. Dan Grunfeld had 14 points and five rebounds.
Malik Hairston had 19 points and seven rebounds for Oregon, which has lost four straight games and the last 19 meetings at Maples Pavilion. The Ducks haven't won here since an 83-69 victory on Jan. 13, 1986 - before three of the current Oregon players were even born.
Aaron Brooks added 11 points off the bench for Oregon (11-7, 3-6). He didn't start for the first time all season after coach Ernie Kent changed his lineup in an effort to get better results.
Stanford played with impressive spirit from the start. After hitting a 3-pointer late in the first half that gave him five straight points, Hernandez yelled in joy and pumped his arms as he ran back on defense. Players bumped chests during time-outs, much to the delight of the sellout crowd, which chanted ``20-20'' in honor of Haryasz in the final minutes.
Stanford, the defending Pac-10 champs who have reached the NCAA tournament's second round the past 10 seasons, led by as many as 32 points. The Cardinal are exhibiting significant progress under first-year coach Trent Johnson, who said when he took the job it would take time for this team to get in sync and adjust to a new coach after Mike Montgomery bolted for the NBA after 18 seasons at the school.
If Stanford continues playing well, it could make a case to return to The Associated Press Top-25. The Cardinal won their first 26 games last season to finish 30-2 and ranked No. 1.
This year's team isn't as dominant but works hard.
Haryasz grabbed 10 straight defensive rebounds in the first half, including six in a row during a decisive 11-0 run that gave Stanford a 37-15 lead.
Oregon's problems in the Bay Area continued two days after the Ducks lost 65-62 to California in Berkeley. Dating to the 1999-2000 season, Oregon is 1-11 on this annual road trip. The Ducks haven't won at Cal since Feb. 12, 2000.
Oregon has been plagued by poor performances in the first half, and the Ducks couldn't match Stanford's intensity early. The Cardinal attacked the basket, played pressure defense and controlled the rebounds. They made 10 of their first 15 shots to quickly build a 15-point lead.
Stanford shot 55.6 percent in the first half on the way to a 51-25 halftime lead.
Peter Prowitt, a reserve freshman center for Stanford, returned to action after missing Thursday's game with a sprained ankle sustained in practice last Monday.
