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Stanford uses balanced attack to crush Northwestern State

Nov 11, 2007 - 8:10 AM PALO ALTO, California (Ticker) -- Brook Lopez's absence may be a blessing in disguise for the Stanford Cardinal.

Lawrence Hill and Drew Shiller each scored 15 points and Mitch Johnson added 14 as the 21st-ranked Cardinal cruised to a 97-58 victory over Northwestern State on Saturday.

Lopez, a 7-foot forward who declared for the NBA draft last spring, was ruled academically ineligible for the fall semester. However, so far Stanford (2-0), which had five players in double figures for the second straight game, has not missed him.

"Two games, so far - it's encouraging, refreshing," Stanford coach Trent Johnson said. "As well as we've played in terms of our effort and our energy, we can rebound better. We're sharing the ball well and playing with a high level of intensity. In the past, we've played to the level of our opponents. We're playing to our level (now)."

Hill shot 7-of-11 from the floor to lead the Cardinal, who shot 60 percent (20-of-33) in the first half en route to a 57-24 lead at the break.

"The best thing Stanford did was that they finished almost every inside shot they took when they got fouled," Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy said. "If they can do that consistently all year, that will separate them from a lot of teams."

Stanford opened the game with an 11-2 run and opened a 27-point lead at 50-23 with 2:55 left in the half.

"That's the plan," Hill said. "It's good, but it's also challenging. We don't want to relax. We were up 20 in the first 10 minutes, but that's a time when teams can let up because of that."

The Cardinal defense was terrific as well, holding the Demons (0-2) to just 27 percent (8-for-29) shooting in the first 20 minutes.

Trey Gilder led Northwestern State with 14 points and Colby Bargeman added 11.