St. Mary’s, Stanford men win, Cal falls
Reid Travis suspected he’d have a big night from the way Washington’s zone defense leaves operating room for him in the middle.
And a big night he had, scoring a career-high 33 points — including 23 in the first half — and Stanford took a step toward a possible first-round bye in the Pac-12 tournament by trouncing Washington 94-78 Thursday night at Maples Pavilion.
“You saw a beast in there,” Stanford guard Dorian Pickens said. “Anytime he got the ball in the high post, he was able to get to the cup, find teammates, finish the play strong, get to the free-throw line, really get us going offensively. With their defense, they leave the middle open. That’s perfect for him to get in and operate.”
Travis hit 11 of 17 shots from the field and, oddly, 11 of 17 free-throw tries. He also grabbed nine rebounds.
“He was the real deal,” head coach Jerod Haase said. “It’s one thing to say we want to get the ball in the middle of the zone. It’s another to be able to get it there and do something with it. He’s as good as there is in the country at finishing through contact.
“The other thing is, he has the skill set to put the ball on the ground and go around people. It’s not just brute strength, and it’s not just guard skills. He has the combination of both, which very few players have.”
The teams entered the evening tied for fifth place, a halfgame behind Utah. It’s important because the top four teams draw byes in the tournament, which starts March 7 in Las Vegas.
It was the second win for the Cardinal (15-13, 9-6 Pac-12) over the Huskies (18-10, 8-7), so Stanford would have the tiebreaker advantage in that pairing. The Cardinal host Washington State on Saturday afternoon before visiting the Arizona schools next week.
Pickens, hitting five threepointers in nine tries, scored 20 points. Michael Humphrey added 15 and Oscar da Silva 14.
Point guard Daejon Davis, who didn’t take a shot from the floor, had just four points but nine assists and only one turnover. He missed the first seven minutes of the second half after being poked in the eye late in the first half.
The Huskies, coming off a 23-point win over Colorado, were outplayed most of the night. They didn’t make their first three-pointer until Dominic Green connected nine minutes into the second half, after 12 misses. They finished 6-for-26.
Freshman Jaylen Nowell led UW with 18 points. Nahziah Carter added 17. Noah Dickerson had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Matisse Thybulle had 10 points. Nowell, Dickerson and Thybulle all fouled out.
Stanford made the game closer than it otherwise would have been by making just 27 of 47 foul shots.
Haase said he’d give his players a “C-minus” for how they handled the press in the second half. It helped the Huskies cut the lead to 67-55.
Da Silva then scored a layup off the press. Washington head coach Mike Hopkins was called for a technical, and Pickens hit both free throws. Da Silva nailed a three, opening a 74-55 lead.