Maples Pavilion was brimming with excitement with just seconds to go and the Cardinal holding the ball for the final shot in a tie game. After the buzzer sounded, there was little more than shocked silence.

Stanford took one of the toughest losses imaginable Saturday afternoon against Arizona, as Wildcats guard Lamont Jones banked in a running 15-foot jumper as time expired. The play occurred immediately after sophomore center Jack Trotter’s dunk attempt was rejected by Arizona’s Derrick Williams on the other side of the court – a play that elicited resounding boos from a Cardinal crowd wanting a foul call.

Head coach Johnny Dawkins had no opinion on the no-call.

“Too much was going on and I couldn’t exactly see what happened,” he said. “I credit them defensively. We have to execute better to free our guys up.”

Instead, the ever-humble coach praised Williams for his play.

“He’s a tough cover,” Dawkins said. “He’s a big-time player. [He’s] probably the best freshman in the conference and quite frankly one of the best players in the conference.”

There may have been some contact on the play, but in any case, the block by Williams was an incredibly athletic play by one of the conference’s rising stars, and the referees apparently saw enough contact with the ball to keep their whistles away.

The Cardinal also had plenty of chances to secure the game before the final seconds. After falling behind by as much as 11 in the first half, Stanford led for much of the second half until the Wildcats tied the game at 64 with four minutes to go. Coach Dawkins’ squad also struggled at the free-throw line, which may have ultimately cost the team the game: Stanford made only 10 of 18 shots from the charity stripe, and missed four of its final five attempts.

“We didn’t finish,” Dawkins said. “It’s a tough loss for us. We had our chances and we credit them for making the plays when it counted.”

That said, the Cardinal still played well for most of Saturday’s contest, led by 24 points from senior wing Landry Fields, 15 from sophomore shooting guard Jeremy Green and 13 from sophomore point guard Jarrett Mann. Trotter, despite giving up 24 points to the more athletic Williams, turned in another solid showing with eight points and nine rebounds.

Despite playing 39 minutes and leading the team as he has done all season, Fields was tough on himself after going 2-7 from the free-throw line.

“I didn’t execute on free throws and I had five turnovers so I wouldn’t say it was a very good game for me,” he said.

Dawkins was still proud of the senior, though.

“He’s been our best player,” the coach said. “He makes all the plays for us – not just scoring the basketball. We wouldn’t be where we are if it wasn’t for what Landry Fields has done for us all season long.”

Saturday’s contest was a game of runs, as Arizona went up 27-16 with six minutes remaining in the first half. Stanford answered back with a 22-4 run of its own, going into the locker rooms with a seven-point lead. The Cardinal led 63-55 with just over six minutes to go in the second half, but Arizona was able to rally and score 16 of the game’s final 22 points for the victory.

Stanford has no choice but to stomach Saturday’s loss, as Cal pays a visit to Maples Pavilion for the regular-season finale this coming Saturday at Maples Pavilion.

The Bears clinched a share of the Pac-10 title after beating Arizona State on Saturday, but Dawkins knows that the on-paper record doesn’t always translate to the court.

“Any time you’re playing against your rival you’re gonna get up for it,” he said. “You throw out the records. I would expect our guys to take this [loss] hard…in preparation for a tough challenge against California.”