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Stanford routs Cornell to advance to second round

Mar 21, 2008 - 2:00 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- Kenny Brown scored 18 points and Robin Lopez added 14 to lead third-seeded Stanford to a 77-53 victory over No. 14 Cornell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament South Regional on Thursday.

With Lopez and his twin brother Brook manning the paint, Stanford had no problem snapping its two-game losing streak in first-round games.

Robin Lopez scored eight points in the first half and the Cardinal (27-7) came out playing tough defense from the get go, limiting the Big Red to 16 percent (5-of-32) shooting while opening up a 38-17 lead at the break.

"It helps to get off to a good start defensively," Stanford coach Trent Johnson said. "Cornell as we all know had one heck of a year, undefeated in league which is really hard to do in this day and age. So it was nice to see our guys come out and be very aggressive and ready to play and relaxed."

It was a stark contrast to last year for the Cardinal, who were run off the court by Louisville, 78-58.

"There was definitely a sense of calmness. What really helped was the experience last year," Robin Lopez said. "Nobody likes to mention it, but that was in the back of our minds. We knew we had to be mentally prepared for this game.

"We knew we needed to come out there and impose our will or else there would have been a good chance for an upset. Cornell's a very good ball club."

Stanford's size was just too much for Cornell from the start and it was more of the same in the second half.

Brook fed Robin Lopez for an ally-oop dunk to make it 44-20 early in the second half and Cornell (22-6) never was able to mount a serious threat.

Louis Dale, the Ivy League Player of the Year, scored 12 points but was just 4-of-16 from the field. Adam Gore had 11 points and Alex Tyler added 10 for the Big Red, who have not won a game in three tournament appearances and had their 16-game winning streak snapped.

"Obviously we played a very good basketball team. I was very impressed with Stanford," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "The first half, they came out and really guarded us. They made it tough on us and we missed some shots we normally make."

Stanford, which is now 28-8 against the Ivy League with three wins this season, will next meet sixth seed Marquette in the second round on Saturday.

"We're going to have to limit transition baskets," Johnson said of the matchup with the Golden Eagles. "We got our work cut out for us. They want to play fast. They want to pull out of pressure. It's going to be interesting."