By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: Colorado State Rams guard Prentiss Nixon (11) takes a jump shot over the Stanford Cardinal defender during Sunday night’s action at Maples Pavilion

STANFORD – The task was made a little harder than it needed to be down the stretch, but the Stanford basketball team got the job done nonetheless.

The Cardinal are off to a nice start to this season, and they kept that momentum up with a 56-49 win over Colorado State at Maples Pavilion Sunday afternoon.

Shooting guard Dorian Pickens led the Cardinal (4-0) with 17 points, an outing that was sparked by a magnificent first half that saw him score 14 of those points while hitting all four of his 3-point attempts. He also added six rebounds and a pair of assists.

Meanwhile, forward Reid Travis, who has been a notoriously-bad foul shooter, showed some signs of turning that around this young season. He nailed both of his free-throw attempts in the first half on Sunday, but he struggled in the second half, going 3-for-8 the rest of the way.

He was the only other Stanford player besides Pickens to score in double figures on Sunday, as he finished the day with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in the process.

The defense set the tone from the early going, forcing the Rams into 11 turnovers while committing only six of their own.

Backup point guard Robert Cartwright did not have a great day shooting the ball on Sunday, making only four of his 10 shots for nine points, but he did hand out six assists to lead the team.

The Cardinal took a 35-23 lead into the locker room with them at halftime. However, they did get a little sloppy with the ball in the second half, committing 14 turnovers in that timeframe, and that allowed Colorado State the opportunity to crawl back into the game.

The Rams narrowed the deficit to six points on a number of occasions, the last time coming on a free throw my Prentiss Nixon with 3:20 remaining. However, they could not get any closer, as Stanford’s defense held off Colorado State.

Nixon, meanwhile, led the Rams with 15 points despite shooting 3-for-11 from the field. He did get to the foul line often, however, as seven of his points came from the free-throw line.

The Cardinal will now take a nice road trip for the Advocare Invitational in Orlando, a tournament that starts Thanksgiving Day and a matchup with Miami.

Following that tournament, Stanford comes back home to Maples to take on Saint Mary’s on Nov. 30 for their annual showdown, which took place at McKeon Pavilion last season, before they travel to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks, whom they knocked out of the NCAA Tournament two years ago and will undoubtedly seek revenge.