The Associated Press

PULLMAN, Wash. - Matt Lottich was engulfed by his whooping, joyous teammates, their arms raised and their perfect season still alive.

His desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, just steps from the jubilant Stanford bench, gave the top-ranked Cardinal a 63-61 victory over Washington State, their second startling finish in a month.

"I grabbed someone and gave them a hug and said, 'We did it again!' " said reserve Dan Grunfeld, who completed a rare four-point play in the closing seconds Thursday night.

But not long after all the hugs and shouts, coach Mike Montgomery put some perspective on this euphoric ride. He knew his team had escaped and said so in the locker room. His players, all business now, packed their gear, leaving the hollering on the court.

"We need to treat this like a loss a little bit," Montgomery said. "We should not walk away feeling like a million bucks. We probably didn't play up to the level you need to win on the road in this league."

Stanford, on a 26-game winning streak, is dancing on the edge after another close call. On Feb. 7, Nick Robinson's running 35-footer as time expired lifted Stanford past Arizona 80-77.

"It's obvious they have something special going for them," Washington State coach Dick Bennett said.

A victory over Washington today will give Stanford the first 18-0 season in Pacific 10 history. It is trying to become the first team to finish undefeated since Indiana in 1976. But first, Montgomery wants Stanford (26-0, 17-0 Pac-10) to toughen its approach for Washington (16-10, 11-6), which is second in the Pac-10. The Huskies are 1-26 against top-ranked opponents.

Lottich's 3-pointer capped a comeback that began with the Cardinal down by six with a minute left. He also was a hero against Arizona when his steal led to Josh Childress' 3-pointer that tied the game. Then Lottich and Robinson trapped Arizona's Salim Stoudamire and knocked the ball loose. Robinson grabbed it, headed upcourt and scored the winner.

On Thursday night, with Childress having fouled out, Washington State led 61-56 with 25 seconds left. Then Grunfeld cut it to one when he was fouled on a 3-pointer from the corner for his only points of the game. With 17.2 seconds to go, Washington State failed to inbound. Stanford tried to hold the ball for the last shot, but it was knocked away from Chris Hernandez, and a scramble followed. Robinson finally got control and flipped the ball to Lottich.