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B. Lopez had strong return for Stanford

Dec 20, 2007 - 8:12 AM PALO ALTO, California (Ticker) -- It did not take Brook Lopez long to announce his return to Stanford.

Lopez scored 10 of his 20 points in the first half as the No. 25 Cardinal had little trouble in dispatching Santa Clara, 74-48, on Wednesday.

Unable to play in the first nine games of the season due to being academically ineligible, the sophomore 7-footer did not start, but entered the game with only 4 1/2 minutes expired.

On his first play on the offensive end, Lopez grabbed a rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Mitch Johnson but could not convert. Moments later, he hit a jumper on an assist from his twin brother Robin Lopez, giving Stanford an 11-5 lead with 14:20 remaining.

That jumper was towards the beginning of a 13-2 run by the Cardinal (9-1), who pulled ahead, 22-7, on a fastbreak dunk by Anthony Goods with 6:39 left.

Brook Lopez, who finished 7-of-12 from the field with six rebounds, added a layup and a jumper in the final 1:57 of the first half as Stanford took a 29-17 lead at the break.

Lopez added five more points and Goods knocked down two 3-pointers on a 21-2 run early in the second half for a 52-21 advantage with 12:12 to play.

Placing second on the team in blocks as a freshman last season, Lopez had just one in his return as he and his brother had their hands full with John Bryant. The 6-10, 305-pound junior finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for Santa Clara.

Lawrence Hill scored 16 points and Goods finished with 11 for the Cardinal, who pounded the Broncos on the boards by a 40-23 margin.

Taj Finger had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Johnson added seven points and five assists for Stanford, which shot 44 percent (24-of-54) and converted 20-of-29 free throws.

Brody Angley added 10 points for Santa Clara (7-4), which shot 39.5 percent (17-of-43) in being held under 50 points for the first time this season.