Stanford tops Wildcats in final seconds

STANFORD, Calif. - Peter Sauer made an eight-foot jump shot from the baseline with six seconds remaining last night to lift No. 23 Stanford to an 81-80 victory over No. 12 Arizona.

Brevin Knight set up the score when he drove into the lane, drawing in Arizona's defense, before passing to the open Sauer, who swished the shot.

Arizona had one final chance, but Mike Bibby's off-balance jumper from beyond the arc missed badly.

Knight scored 23 points and had 12 assists, one under his school record. Tim Young had 22 points and 17 rebounds for Stanford (19-7, 11-6 Pac-10), and Sauer finished with 10 points.

Michael Dickerson, who fouled out with just under three minustes left, led Arizona (19-8, 11-6) with 22 points. Jason Terry had 17, Bennett Davison 14 and Miles Simon 13.

Arizona, which lost for just the third time in the last 19 meetings with Stanford, took an 80-77 lead on Davison's putback with 2:33 left. That proved to be the Wildcats' last score.

Stanford, which remained unbeaten in 11 games at Maples Pavilion this season, saw a 3-point try by Kris Weems rim out, but Knight stole the ball from Bibby.

The turnover ignited a fast break, with Knight dishing off to Young for a dunk with 56 seconds left. Simon then missed and Young rebounded, setting up Sauer's game-winner.

Up by two at the break, Arizona extended its lead to 53-46 on Simon's 10-foot jumper, capping an 8-0 spurt. The Wildcats though were unable to pull away with Stanford scoring 10 of the next 13 points and pulling into a 56-all tie with 12:51 left.

No more than five points separated the teams the rest of the way.

Jason Terry's alley-oop pass that Davison put in for a dunk ignited an 11-2 burst over the final three minutes of the first half to put Arizona in front 43-41. Terry also hit a pair of 3 pointers in that span.

The Wildcats threatened to blow out Stanford early, opening a 21-10 lead to start the game. But Stanford put a halt to the strong start by fashioning a 17-0 run that carried the Cardinal to a 27-21 advantage.

Knight got it started when he pulled up for a 12-foot jumper. He scored seven points in the run and assisted on a 3-pointer by David Moseley.