First, it was all about getting the offense started, shaking off the first-half doldrums that held No. 2 Cardinal to 27 percent shooting.
Then it was the time to strip down the 19-point deficit. Next came the necessity to get within single digits.
After that, and a 17-3 scoring run, it was time to get the game to within one, 67-66. Then, a free throw was all that was needed for a tie game and the chance to remain undefeated.
Stanford didn’t stop there. It took the lead with 3:49 remaining in the game for the first time since the 19:46 mark of the first half. Thirteen points and less than four minutes later, the evolution of Stanford’s game against Oregon came full circle.
The Cardinal scored on its last 15 possessions en route to an 83-80 victory over the Ducks on Saturday in front of a raucous, sold-out McArthur Court.
“That was quite a second half by our guys,” Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery said. “Oregon is a great basketball team. They play with a lot of emotion, but there is something about our guys. They never give up, and they rallied back for a great win.”
The Cardinal rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit and broke down an Oregon offense that outplayed them in the first half. The Ducks shot 42.9 percent from the field in the first and kept the Cardinal to 24 points.
Stanford turned the tables in the second half, seemingly making shot after shot down the stretch. After Oregon jumped out to a 19-point lead — its biggest of the game — at 16:52, the Cardinal got hot.
“The momentum just shifted,” Oregon guard James Davis said. “We weren’t getting stops in the end. I’m just real disappointed. That was a game we should have had.”
Stanford pulled to within 12, 48-36, after Matt Lottich made a layup on a fast break with 13:42 remaining.
“Defensively, there were some tough plays to be made out there and we did not make them,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said.
The Ducks kept Stanford relatively at bay until Josh Childress’ three-pointer with 7:33 remaining pushed the lead to single-digits. From then on, it went downhill for the Ducks, giving No. 2 Stanford its 18th win of the season, keeping the Cardinal unbeaten.
“First half, we executed the amount of productivity we needed in order to win,” Kent said. “In the second half, we had some lapses with our defense and box outs.
“I am proud of the team. Hopefully we can learn from this.”

Stanford (18-0 overall, 9-0 Pacific-10 Conference) was without the services of forward Justin Davis, injured during the Cardinal’s game with Oregon State on Thursday. In his place was Matt Haryasz, a 6-foot-10 sophomore.
He had the biggest game of his career, scoring 19 points — 13 coming in the second half.
“Matt’s played well when he’s played,” Montgomery said. “He’s a great shot-blocker.”
However, the Cardinal did lose Davis’ rebounding ability and it showed, allowing the Ducks to pull out to five more in the first half. Stanford ended up leading the game on the board, 35-31.
Chris Hernandez led the Cardinal with 22 points — all coming in the second half — and Lottich pitched in with 15 on the strength of 3-of-8 shooting from beyond the three-point line. As a team, Stanford shot 45.6 from the field, including 64.3 in the second half.
“It was more about playing hard, doing what we do,” Montgomery said. “What we are is a team that has to scrap, scrape and grind and really work hard.”
Luke Jackson countered with 25 points and James Davis had 19. Mitch Platt had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
The Ducks shot just a shade under 50 percent for the night — 47.5.
The Ducks (10-6, 5-4) were plagued by inconsistent free-throw shooting, connecting on 54 percent of their attempts (12 of 22).
“I don’t know,” Kent said. “We are the best three-point shooting team in the country, so why we shot so poor from the free-throw line … I don’t understand.”
Employing an eight-man rotation, the Ducks did not get a point from their bench. Jordan Kent, Brandon Lincoln and Jay Anderson combined to play 45 minutes, going 0 of 3 from the field and contributing six rebounds and two assists.
Conversely, Stanford’s bench scored 15 points.
And so went Oregon’s chances to upset the second-ranked team, pull itself into a tie for second place in the Pac-10 and win its 37th game in its last 39 at McArthur Court.
“We knew (Montgomery) was going to have his guys come out and play,” James Davis said. “That’s why they’re the No. 2 team in the country. They came into an environment like this and came out with a win.”
“We played hard all the way through but made mistakes we shouldn’t have,” Platt said.
At the midway point of the Pac-10 season, the Ducks sit in third place, one game back of Arizona, which narrowly defeated Washington State on Saturday.

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