Stanford 73, San Jose State 52

STANFORD, Calif. (AP)—Lawrence Hill scored nine of his 17 points within seven minutes of the second half, helping Stanford beat San Jose State 73-52 in the first round of the CBE Classic on Tuesday night.

Robin Lopez added half of his 12 points in a four-minute span as the Cardinal (2-0) advances into the second round against Air Force, a 69-68 winner over Long Beach State in an earlier game. That winner earns a trip to the Classic’s Final Four in Kansas City next Monday.

Anthony Goods added 11 points, three days after blistering Siena for 30.

Harry Brown and Jamon Hill each scored 12 points to lead San Jose State (0-2), which lost its ninth straight to a Pac-10 school.

Relying on a bevy of sophomores and freshmen, the Cardinal managed to work their way through inconsistent play to get the win.

Stanford coach Trent Johnson has one healthy junior and two seniors at his disposal. Both senior Fred Washington and junior Taj Finger were in foul trouble through the second half.

Lopez, the highly regarded seven-footer who recorded a double-double in his first collegiate game against Siena on Saturday, spent much of the contest riding the bench due to foul trouble.

When Lopez was on the court, Stanford made sure he got the ball inside. With 9:55 left, he finished a lob pass from Mitch Johnson with a hard dunk.

The Spartans, who won six games last year, managed to stay within reach of Stanford through the first half. Buoyed by a pair of transfers—Tim Pierce from Arizona State and Kerry Woolridge from Minnesota—San Jose State rallied from an early 13-point deficit and were within six of the Cardinal early in the second half.

Stanford took control of the game with a 12-1 run and was ahead 46-29 with 13:38 to play.

Stanford led at halftime 32-25.

This was the 50th meeting of the neighboring schools, but the first in 12 years. Stanford leads the series 38-12.