Stanford wins NIT title with rout of Minnesota

NEW YORK — Aaron Bright came off the bench to spark Stanford to an NIT title.

The sophomore point guard had 15 points and six assists in Thursday’s 75-51 rout of Minnesota to earn most outstanding player honors, energizing the Cardinal just as the coaches had hoped when they took him out of the starting lineup in mid-February.

“I give him all the credit, because it takes a player buying into something like that before it works, and he bought into his role,” coach Johnny Dawkins said. “When he comes in, he brings us energy. … I think it’s hard for teams to prepare for him because he’s not out there right away. When he comes in, it gives us a big lift, and it gives our kids confidence in what they can do.”

The victory brought Stanford’s season full circle. Back in November, the Cardinal let a late lead slip away in the final of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden against a Syracuse team that later earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

“We were here before in the preseason and we fell short,” Dawkins said.

The Golden Gophers aren’t exactly the Orange, but when Stanford took the lead this time, the Cardinal never looked back.

Stanford forced two turnovers to open the second half to take a 10-point lead and stayed up by double figures the rest of the way. The Golden Gophers turned it over 22 times.

The third-seeded Cardinal (26-11) won their second NIT title, the first coming in 1991. Another young Stanford guard, freshman Chasson Randle, also scored 15 points.

The final minutes turned into a celebration of 3-pointers and fast-break layups for the Cardinal, players on the bench jumping up to cheer on nearly every possession.

Both teams got off to a strong start, but then Stanford turned up the defensive pressure, and when the Golden Gophers (23-15) had good looks, they couldn’t make them. Sixth-seeded Minnesota missed 16 of its last 19 field goals in the first half.

“When you’re missing shots like that, you get a little frustrated or you pick up a foul … you’re a little discouraged,” coach Tubby Smith said.

The Cardinal scored 12 straight points to go ahead 29-21 with 41/2 minutes to go before the break. Bright had six points, including a four-point play, and two assists during the run, and Stanford drew three charges.

In front of a sparse crowd at the Garden, the atmosphere on the court had some sizzle.

Minnesota’s Elliott Eliason and Stanford’s Dwight Powell had to be separated after getting tangled up on a held ball late in the first half, and the two exchanged words again in the second. Powell was later called for a contact technical foul when the Gophers’ Rodney Williams hit the floor face first after being whistled for fouling the Cardinal forward.

Williams stayed on the court for several minutes before walking off under his own power and returned to the game soon thereafter.

It was the fourth foul on Williams, who at that juncture had scored 12 of Minnesota’s 30 points. Williams finished with 12 to lead the Gophers.

Powell hit both of his free throws, and in a sign of how the game was going for Minnesota, Andre Hollins, a 92.2-percent foul shooter, made only one of two, and Stanford led 47-31 with less than 12 minutes left. Hollins, a freshman, had five turnovers and zero assists.

“That’s just unacceptable for a point guard,” he said.

The injury-riddled Golden Gophers had made a spirited run to the NIT title game. But they hit just three of their 13 3-point attempts and allowed the Cardinal to shoot 57.1 percent in the second half.

Longtime coach Dick Davey went out with a win. A former head coach at Santa Clara, Davey is retiring as Stanford’s associate head coach.

“I’ve been telling everybody it’s great for next year, too,” Bright said. “It’s great for our seniors to go out like that and hopefully it carries into the offseason for us and we’ll just continue to work hard. We know what it takes to win the tournament now. We won five in a row, and I think we are going to use this experience for next year and making a run at the March Madness.”