text: College basketball: Stanford beats Utah 61-60 - ContraCostaTimes.com
  )The announced crowd of 6,167 included the Cardinal football team, former football coach Jim Harbaugh and current athletic director Bernard Muir, who is fast approaching decision time on Dawkins' future.Muir indicated last spring that Dawkins needed to reach the NCAAs in 2014 in order to keep his job.The victory Saturday probably won't help Stanford's cause -- Utah's power rating is too low -- but a loss would have been damaging to a team that has seemingly fallen onto the at-large bubble in recent weeks."That's out of our hands," Dawkins said of the NCAA selection process. "I just know we have to keep winning games."AdvertisementStanford's next chance comes in the Pac-12 tournament, which begins Wednesday in Las Vegas. The Cardinal will be the No. 6 seed and will play Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. against the No. 11 seed, either Washington State or USC.Whether a victory in Sin City is mandatory for Stanford to secure an at-large berth is impossible to know because of the nuances of the NCAA selection process.But this much is certain: After blowing a second-half lead Wednesday against Colorado -- and after blowout losses in Arizona last week -- Stanford was desperate for a victory in the final home game for seniors Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell.Both played a role in the outcome: Huestis with a 3-pointer in the final minutes that gave Stanford a 60-58 lead and Powell with a free throw with 36 seconds left that provided the winning margin."We knew it would come down to the wire," Dawkins said. "What prevailed for us was our defense. It offset the free throws we missed. The guys didn't hang their heads."The Cardinal jumped to an early lead, repelled several Utah spurts and was comfortably in front (54-43) with eight minutes remaining.Utah didn't flinch. Delon Wright and Brandon Taylor hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extinguish Stanford's momentum.Taylor's jumper from the left wing with four minutes remaining pulled the Utes within one, and his pinpoint pass to Dallin Bachynski for a dunk gave them a 58-57 lead -- their first of the game.Huestis countered with his 3-pointer from the right wing to steady the Cardinal. A series of errant free throws by Stanford allowed Utah to tie the score 60-60 with a minute remaining.Powell's foul shot with 36 seconds left gave Stanford a one-point lead. Randle's defense in the final seconds gave Stanford the win."We had to dig down," Dawkins said. "It can go two ways: You can feel sorry for yourself, or you can make it happen."For more on college sports, see Jon Wilner's College Hotline at blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports. Wednesday's GAMEPac-12 tournament in Las Vegas: No. 6 Stanford (19-11, 10-8 Pac-12) vs. No. 11 Washington State (10-20, 3-15), 8:30 p.m. Pac-12 NetworksPrint Email Font ResizeReturn to Top Thompson: Thunder play up to their name, so the Warriors' win comes a reliefWrestling: Las Lomas wins Mission San Jose team titleCollege basketball: Oklahoma, North Carolina lose • Article commenting rules of the road