Brook Lopez admitted the team had a slight case of pre-game butterflies. The Cardinal needed to reverse a two-game slide, but the recent haircuts sported by Robin Lopez and Lawrence Hill were not Stanford’s only new look.

The Cardinal was without sophomore guard Anthony Goods, who is out with a high ankle sprain that may keep him off the court for several weeks. But Stanford overcame a self-admitted sloppy start to down Oregon State 70-55 last night in Maples Pavilion in a game that could only be described as a tale of two halves.

“It’s very obvious that we were struggling early,” head coach Trent Johnson said. “I think the kids were a little tight. But they relaxed, came out in the second half, and played better basketball.”

Sophomore forward Lawrence Hill regained his offensive stroke, leading the Cardinal (16-8, 8-5 Pacific-10 Conference) with 23 points. Freshman forward Brook Lopez added 20, and the pair combined to score 30 of Stanford’s 44 second-half points.

“We just have to find a happy medium,” Hill said, “between playing within ourselves and making plays.”

While Stanford’s offense was dormant early, its defense was dominant throughout. Junior forward Marcel Jones led Oregon State (10-17, 2-12) with 13 points, but his team shot a mere 32.3 percent from the field and was 3-for-20 from beyond the three-point arc (15 percent). Junior forward Sasa Cuic, averaging 12.3 points per game, was shut out on 0-for-10 shooting.

“I thought, defensively, we were pretty good today,” Johnson said.

Offensively, it was a different story. Stanford committed eight turnovers in the first six minutes of the game, and finished the half with 16. The team scraped out a 26-22 lead at intermission, shooting 34.8 percent and missing all five of its three-point attempts in the opening stanza.

“I think for the most part that’s what happens when you have a group of guys that have a tendency to over-try and want to win so bad,” Johnson said. “But it’s easier said than done.”

That changed in the second half. The Cardinal broke away for good with a 21-6 run midway through the period, powered by 11 points from Brook Lopez during the span.

“I think we just picked up our intensity,” Lopez said. “The bench picked it up, and the crowd was into it.”

Stanford did a significantly better job of taking care of the ball in the second half as well, committing only four turnovers while netting 16 assists.

“It’s been a long season so far,” Hill said. “It’s not like we don’t know what we have to do.”

Stepping in for the injured Goods, Mitch Johnson scored two points on a pair of free throws. But the sophomore guard led the team with eight rebounds and four assists on the night. Redshirt sophomore Kenny Brown made the most of his 17 minutes, taking five shots but hitting a three-pointer that kicked off the Cardinal’s big second-half run.

“He wasn’t afraid to shoot it. That’s not something Kenny is,” Trent Johnson said. “He’s taking advantage of his opportunity. We’ll see what happens Saturday.”

Saturday brings to Maples No.15 Oregon, fresh off a 63-61 upset loss to Cal last night. The Ducks downed Stanford 66-59 when the Cardinal traveled to Eugene, Ore. last month.

“We’re going to be working for them for the next 48 hours,” Hill said. “Every game from now on is all on us. Payback is always good.”

But the coach, as always, is taking the season one game at a time.

“A win is a win,” Johnson said. “A win is a good win in this league.”