Stanford Tops Iowa In Classic

Stanford didn't have Mark Madsen but the Cardinal had more than enough Collins.

Freshman Casey Jacobsen scored 17 points and the Collins twins combined for 35 points and 22 rebounds Friday night as No. 13 Stanford beat Iowa 72-58 in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden.

The Cardinal, who beat No. 10 Duke 80-79 in overtime in the opening round, played without Madsen, their only returning starter from last season, who pulled a hamstring on Thursday.

"Jason and Jarron were too much for them and with Jason finally healthy they will cause problems for people all season," Cardinal coach Mike Montgomery said. "They've been playing together all their lives and they're a good combination."

They didn't get much of a chance to play together the last two seasons as Jason was hampered by a knee injury and then a broken wrist.

"We just play basketball, that's what we've been doing since we were 6 years old," said Jarron, who was selected the tournament MVP. "I'm really excited for Jason as are our family and friends. It's been hard for him off the floor the last two years but we've supported him and we'll keep supporting him."

Connecticut beat Duke 71-66 in the third-place game.

The Cardinal finished with a 45-33 rebound advantage.

"Their big players took it to us and you can see that by the free throws," Iowa coach StevAlford said, referring to Stanford's 28-13 advantage in foul shots. "They got us in a big hurry offensively and there were too many times with one pass and a shot or one screen and a shot and they affected our defense."

Michael McDonald hit a 25-footer at the halftime buzzer to give Stanford a 39-31 lead and that became 47-35 with 12:29 to play after a 3-pointer by Jacobsen. The Hawkeyes missed nine of their first 11 shots in the second half and couldn't recover.

Jacobsen, who was 6-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, followed that 3-pointer with a jumper and another 3 as he scored eight straight points for the Cardinal. Iowa got within 56-48 with 8:15 left on a drive by Jacob Jaacks, but Jacobsen scored on a drive and, after Jason Collins' free throw, Stanford rebounded the miss of the second and got the ball to Jacobsen for another 3 that made it 62-48 with 7:13 to play.

"In the second half Casey Jacobsen hit some really big shots," Montgomery said.

Dean Oliver and Jaacks each had 13 points for Iowa and Rob Griffin had 12.

"I tried to get shots off over two 6-11 guys with their arms up and was just too quick with everything," Jaacks said. "I should have kicked the ball out a lot more."

Montgomery said Madsen will be at least a month.

"He's our emotional leader and not having him affects our depth," Montgomery said. "I think we responded pretty well without him with everybody doing what they needed to do."

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