Dec. 31, 2004
Final Stats
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Jeff Varem scored all 18 of his points in the second
half Friday night to lead Washington State past Stanford 60-51 in the
Pacific-10 conference opener for both teams.
Thomas Kelati added 17 points for the Cougars. Washington State had lost 17
in a row to the Cardinal since winning on Feb. 22, 1996, at Stanford.
Dan Grunfield's 18 points led Stanford, the two-time defending Pac-10
champion. Stanford was ranked No. 1 last season when it won 63-61 at Washington
State on a desperation 3-pointer at the final buzzer.
Washington State (6-4) led Stanford (6-5) 18-15 at the end of a sluggish
first half. After halftime, the outside shooting of Kelati and the inside play
of Varem sparked the Cougars.
One of the lowest-scoring teams in the country, the Cougars came up one shy
of their season high for points and held Stanford to its season low. Washington
State shot a season-high 45 percent from the field, compared to 39 percent for
the Cardinal.
The Cougars led by 10 or more points for much of the second half.
Varem finished with a game-high 12 rebounds, and Derrick Low and Chris
Schlatter each scored 10 points for WSU. Grunfield was the only Stanford player
to score in double figures.
Washington State forced just nine turnovers, but the Cougars had only two of
their own in the second half after being charged with 12 in the first half. WSU
outrebounded the much bigger Cardinal 35-29 and sent Stanford to the free-throw
line just four times.
The victory was WSU's first in a Pac-10 opener since downing Washington on
Jan. 3, 1999.
