Cardinal surprise at foul line, climb to 3rd in Pac-12

If Stanford had shot free throws the way it normally does, the Cardinal wouldn’t have beaten Washington State in their home finale Saturday.

Stanford entered the game tied with Cal for the worst percentage from the line in the Pac-12 at 68 percent.

This time they hit 18 of 20, making all 13 attempts in the second half. Nevertheless, the game was a nail-biter until two foul shots by freshman guard Daejon Davis with 10 seconds left secured an 86-84 win.

The Cardinal (16-13, 10-6) leapfrogged Utah in the Pac-12 standings, moving from fifth into a tie with UCLA for third. The top four teams in the league get a bye in the first round of the conference tournament.

Washington State (11-17, 3-13) came back after trailing by 14 with a little over five minutes left. The Cougars’ Malachi Flynn scored eight points in their stretch drive but missed a potential game-winning threepointer with three seconds left. Wazzou shot 57 percent for the game, although it never led.

“We couldn’t guard them,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said. “We tried everything. We tried five different ball-screen coverages. If we were defending the three, they were able to get to the basket on us. If we got sucked in at all, they punished us by making shots. They’re a difficult team to defend.”

Once again, Stanford’s Reid Travis was a monster in the paint, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

“Their two bigs (Drick Bernstine and Robert Franks) didn’t want to foul because they’re crucial parts of their team,” Travis said. “Knowing that, I just had to go out there and try to get some points.”

Travis had six of Stanford’s season-high 16 offensive rebounds, helping the Cardinal to a 34-22 overall advantage on the boards.

Seniors Michael Humphrey and Dorian Pickens played significant roles after a pregame

ceremony honored them in their final regular-season appearance at Maples. Humphrey, who scored 16 points, hit a three-pointer at the end of a 49-40 first half. Pickens added 14 points.

“Your last home game is definitely a little extra emotional,” Pickens said. “We had some extra juices flowing. I think the whole team did as well.”

Freshman KZ Okpala contributed 20 points, three steals and a block.

Franks led the Cougars with 19 points. Flynn and Bernstine added 16 apiece, and reserve guard Milan Acquaah had 10.

Stanford’s 1997-98 Final Four was honored at halftime.

“They’ve given us a road map for how to succeed at Stanford,” Haase said. “So we’re going to copy a lot of things that they’ve done. Most of those things have to do with the camaraderie, the love of the university, the love of the team.”