Nov. 30, 1997

Weems Leads Stanford to Big Island Title

HILO, Hawaii -Guard Kris Weems exceeded his season output with 29 points as 13th-ranked Stanford exploded for 64 second-half points en route to a 99-86 victory over Butler in the championship of the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii.

Mark Masden added 17 for the Cardinal (4-0), who defeated host Hawaii-Hilo and Valparaiso before capturing the title tonight. Stanford led 35-28 at halftime before pulling away in the fourth quarter.

Matthew Graves scored 27 points and Jeff Rogers added 11 for Butler (4-2), which upset number 17 Oklahoma in the first round on Friday and defeated Pacific to reach the championship game.

Stanford raced to an 18-4 lead in the first 7:41 of the contest and held a 35-28 halftime lead as the Bulldogs made just 4-of-18 (22 percent) from the floor. The only thing that kept Butler in the game the first 20 minutes was its free throw shooting. The Bulldogs made 19-of-20 foul shots in the first half.

Weems, who entered the game averaging 8.3 points and shooting just 26.1 percent from the field, made 8-of-17 shots, including 4-of-10 three-pointers. He also made all nine of his free throws as Stanford shot 15-of-24 (63 percent) from the field.

Madsen continued his torrid shooting to the season as he made all six of his shots. He has made an unfathomable 95.2 percent of his shots from the field, making 20-of-21 shots. By comparison he is 22-of-35 from the line (62.8 percent).

Both teams executed well on offense on the second half, though the Cardinal added 28 free throws on 32 attempts. Arthur Lee, who finished with 15 points and eight assists, was 7-of-8 from the foul line.

Peter Sauer finished with 16 points and eight rebounds for Stanford, which outrebounded the Bulldogs 36-21 and 12-7 on the offensive end.

Bulldogs forward Jon Neuhouser, who entered the game averaging a team-best 17 points per game, was held to eight on 3-of-8 shooting. Graves, who entered the game with 24 points on the season, had five of Butler's six three-pointers.

Butler shot 46 percent (25-of-54) from the floor and hit 30-of-33 free throws.

Stanford University Men's Basketball