Jensen helps Huskies survive Stanford’s upset bid

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, January 2, 2005

SEATTLE – The Washington Huskies notched victories in their first two Pacific-10 Conference games this weekend, but they needed extraordinary performances to get them.

Against California Friday, it was point guard Will Conroy.

Against Stanford Sunday, a 76-73 UW win, it was forward Mike Jensen in a sold-out Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Jensen, a muscular, 6-foot-8, 240-pound bundle of nerves, paced Washington with a career-high 17 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two spectacular blocked shots, but it was his series of plays in the closing minutes that pulled 13th-ranked Washington out of serious trouble.

And, considering how badly Jensen has struggled recently, it couldn’t have come at a better time for his team. In the last two games, Jensen managed two points and eight rebounds.

“I’m an emotional player and I get down on myself more than most guys need to,” he said. “I needed a game like this.”

The Huskies blew a pair of 11-point leads in the game and found themselves in a 67-64 deficit with 31/2 minutes remaining. The Cardinal, smarting after a troublesome, 60-51 loss to underdog Washington State two nights ago, had momentum, confidence and every reason to believe it would pull the upset.

Jensen didn’t let it happen.

He drilled a 3-pointer on a rare play called specifically for him to shoot. That tied the score at 67.

Later, with the Huskies up 74-73, possession of the ball and the chance to run the clock out, Nate Robinson made the curious decision to fling up a shot from the baseline (“I zoned out,” Robinson would say later). It missed, giving Stanford the ball with 20 seconds remaining and a chance to win it.

Jensen to the rescue.

Cardinal guard Tim Morris missed a 12-footer to the left of the basket, but Rob Little, Stanford’s 6-10 rebounding machine, was in ideal position to tip the ball in from the opposite side.

Somehow, Little missed and Jensen came down with the rebound. Fouled immediately, Jensen knocked down a pair of free throws for a 76-73 lead with 12.1 seconds remaining.

A 3-point attempt by Stanford’s Nick Robinson with two seconds remaining missed and the game ended.

“That was a bit stressful,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. “We appeared to let down a bit and Stanford continued to fight, continued to play hard. Mike Jensen was very good on both ends of the floor. For him to come out and have this kind of game, I know myself and the players and the staff are all very happy for him.”

It was the second straight uneven performance for Washington (12-1, 2-0 Pac-10). When the Huskies were able to play at its more comfortable breakneck tempo, they maintained a lead, as they did in building a 60-49 advantage with 9:14 left in the game.

Yet, the Cardinal (6-6, 0-2) caught up when it slowed the pace, kept the game played in the half-court and took advantage of its height. Stanford went on an 11-0 run to tie it at 60 merely two minutes later, and all of a sudden, it was again a game.

“They’re bigger than we are and they can get tips and putbacks,” Jensen said. “On defense, when they put their arms up, they’re 8 feet tall. They made it hard to get open shots.”

Poor shooting and more than a few turnovers cut into an early 11-point lead. Then, too, was the fact that Stanford simply outworked the Huskies to gain a tie on two occasions.

Nick Robinson (nine points) and Chris Hernandez (six) burned Washington from outside, Matt Haryasz (eight rebounds) kept Washington from its fair share of rebounds.

In building a 17-6 advantage in the opening minutes, the Huskies forced turnovers, converted them into fastbreak points and whipped the ball around on the half-court offense.

Yet, all that stopped midway through the first half. Inexplicably turning it into a one-on-one show, Washington was just 7-for-20 shooting from the floor and survived with a 36-33 lead.

For the Huskies, halftime couldn’t come soon enough. Yes, Washington forced 13 turnovers, but only one in the last eight minutes.

Tre Simmons led all scorers with 10 first-half points. Jensen added six points, four rebounds (three on the offensive end) and three steals.

Simmons finished with 17 points, while Robinson added 10. Hernandez and Dan Grunfeld led the Cardinal with 15 apiece.