Placed in key roles, youngsters deliver
Already without starting guard Marcus Sheffield because of a foot injury, the Stanford men’s basketball team lost another experienced guard, Dorian Pickens, to a similar issue late in the season’s second game.
The Cardinal dropped five of their next six games, but Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion, Stanford went on a late tear to beat Montana 70-54.
“There’s a little bit of a sigh of relief to remember what it feels like to win a game,” Cardinal coach Jerod Haase said. “We’d all like to have everyone healthy and have the whole roster but it’s not there yet, but we need to go through these growing pains. I do believe these growing pains will pay dividends, as long as we can learn the lessons.”
Among those racing ahead when it comes to the learning curve: freshman guard Daejon Davis, whose playing time has skyrocketed because of the injuries. In Stanford’s 87-78 loss to Portland State on Sunday, Davis had eight points and 11 turnovers; Wednesday, he scored 17 points and had five turnovers.
“I’d turn the ball over 100 times and if we get a win, I’m happy for my team,” Davis said.
“He’s been put into a big role,” said Stanford’s leading scorer, Reid Travis. “We’ve got a lot of veteran guys but obviously have injuries. This is what we want him to do. He has the talent and the poise to run our team. He’s growing each game.”
Haase said he hopes to get Sheffield and Pickens back for Pac-12 play, which begins Dec. 30.
The Grizzlies led 50-44 more than halfway through the second half, but the Cardinal got a three-pointer from freshman Isaac White, fouled on the play, and he made the free throw. Then another man off the bench, junior center Josh Sharma, hit a free throw, put in an offensive rebound and then made three of four foul shots to give Stanford a 54-50 lead. Walk-on Blake Pagon added a spark with his defense during the stretch.
“A lot of winning plays,” Travis said. “Blake Pagon and Josh Sharma came in, two guys who are X factors — they came in with a lot of energy, and that just raises everyone else’s play.”
The Cardinal outscored Montana 26-4 over the final 9:39. The Grizzlies made two of their final 19 shots and shot 29.2 percent, including 16 percent from three-point range.
Travis finished with 20 points, and Michael Humphrey had 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Stanford (4-5). Michael Oguine scored 19 for Montana (4-3).
Montana sophomore Sayeed Pridgett, who is from Oakland and played at El Cerrito High, had six points off the bench, and former Dublin High guard Timmy Falls, a freshman, added a point.