By Andrew SimonThe Daily Northwestern

Trailing by just two points in the final minute, Northwestern still had a chance to defeat Stanford on Friday night.

But the Wildcats (1-2) were unable to rebound or play strong interior defense in a key situation, problems they experienced throughout their 58-53 road loss.

With 41 seconds left to play, Stanford forward Lawrence Hill snatched the rebound off Carlton Weatherby’s missed free throw. Later in the possession, he took a pass underneath and slammed the ball home, putting the Cardinal (3-1) up by four with 26 seconds left.

“(Hill’s rebound) was vital,” coach Bill Carmody said. “So many times you can’t do anything about it, because whether you box out or not, the guy can jump so high to catch it. Clearly, it was an important play.”

Stanford owned NU on the boards all night, winning the rebounding battle 40-17. The difference was even more pronounced on the offensive glass, with the Cardinal pulling down 15 offensive rebounds to the Cats’ four.

NU was also out-rebounded in each of its first two games of the season.

“(Rebounding) is always going to be a big problem for us, but I don’t think we can do too much about it,” Carmody said.

NU was unable to stop Stanford from penetrating off the dribble or passing low into the post giving the Cardinal offense easy baskets all game long. Stanford had 14 layups and dunks, while NU managed nine.

Hill was the biggest factor in Stanford’s supremacy in the paint. The 6-8 forward notched a career-high 21 points, aided by five layups and a dunk. He also pulled down nine rebounds, including six offensive boards, and blocked two shots.

“The first half, he really dominated the game,” Carmody said. “He scored. He got offensive rebounds. He was the difference.”

Propelled by junior forward Taj Finger’s eight straight points, Stanford went on a 12-4 run to take 52-40 lead with 5:59 to play.

NU immediately stormed back behind senior center Vince Scott’s hot shooting. Scott failed to score in the first half and had only three points at the time. But over the course of just more than a minute, he poured in eight consecutive points, knocking down two 3-pointers along the way.

Just four minutes after falling behind by 12, NU tied the game at 53 on two Tim Doyle free throws. The senior forward scored 11 of his team-high 13 points after halftime.

“Me and Big Vince made some big plays in the second half,” Doyle said. “(Scott) made some big 3s and a big hook, and we’re expecting that from him.”

But NU could not keep the momentum alive, as its interior defense let it down again.

Sophomore guard Anthony Goods hit a layup to put Stanford back in front. The Cats had a chance to tie but the Stanford defense blocked Scott’s layup and the Cardinals

regained possession.

After Hill put Stanford ahead by four, NU had another chance, but sophomore guard Craig Moore missed a 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining.

“It’s very disappointing,” Scott said. “At a place like Stanford, every possession is

crucial, and we just lost track of possessions at the end of the game.”

Reach Andrew Simon at [email protected].