Tag: Stanford Cardinal

2018 season off to a good start as the Cardinal rout the SDSU Aztecs 31-10

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Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By Jerry Feitelberg

STANFORD — The Stanford Cardinal avenged the stunning upset loss to the San Diego State Aztecs last year. The Cardinal offense had trouble getting going in the first half. The Aztec defense shut down the Cardinal’s running game as they held Bryce Love in check. K.J. Costello did not get the passing game going until late in the first half. The Cardinal led 9-7 at the half, and the Aztecs knew they had a chance to pull off another upset. That did not happen as the Cardinal offense came to life in the second half and the best the Aztec offense could do against the Cardinal defense was a field goal. The Cardinal won the game 31-10 at Stanford Stadium on Friday night.

On the opening drive, the Cardinal took the ball down to the Aztec 20-yard line. The key play on the drive was a 21-yard pass play from Costello to JJ Arcega-Whiteside. The drive stalled at the 20 and Jet Toner was asked to kick a 38-yard field goal. The usually reliable Toner’s attempt went wide and the Cardinal came up empty.

The Cardinal defense appeared to have the Aztecs pinned in their end of the field. However, Aztec QB Christian Chapman Completed an 8-yard pass to Parker Houston for a first down. Running back Juwan Washington ripped off runs of 22, 10, and 40 yards to get SDSU down to the Cardinal’s 4-yard line. Washington ran the ball into the end zone for the first score of the game. The extra point was good, and the Aztecs were ahead 7-0 with 2:38 left in the first quarter. The Aztecs went on an 8-play, 92-yard drive that took 4:14 off the clock.

In the second period, the Cardinal defense stiffened and forced the Aztecs to punt. The 50-yard punt was fielded by Connor Wedington. He returned the punt 12 years but appeared to fumble the ball on Stanford’s 35-yard line. The call was challenged, and it was reversed when the review showed the ground caused the fumble. Stanford retained possession. There were 11 minutes left in the first half. The Aztecs defense forced Stanford to punt. Jake Bailey’s 63-yard punt went out of bounds at the Aztec one-yard line. It was third down and six from the Aztec 5-yard line. The Cardinal defense pressured Chapman to run into the end zone. ILB Bobby Okereke tackled Chapman for a safety. The Cardinal trailed 7-2 and will get possession of the ball. The Aztec defense stymied the Cardinal once again, and they had to punt the ball away with 6:02 left in the second quarter. The Cardinal finally scored a touchdown with just 27 seconds left in the half. The Cardinal went on a 3-play, 54-yard drive. The key play was a 38-yard pass from Costello to Arcega-Whiteside for the score. The extra point was good, and the Cardinal has the 9-7 advantage. The stats showed the Cardinal were not able to get the running game going. They rushed for a total of just 15 yards Heisman Trophy candidate Bryce Love had 10 carries for seven yards. Costello completed 12 passes in 19 attempts good for 141 yards. SDSU’s Juwan Washington carried the ball 17 times for 114 yards and one touchdown.

The Cardinal kicked off to the Aztecs to start the third quarter. The Stanford defense stopped the Aztec offense and forced them to kick. The Cardinal received the ball on the Aztec 49-yard-line. Costello engineered a 49-yard drive in 4 plays that culminated with a 19-yard strike to JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the end zone for the touchdown. Toner converted the extra point. Stanford leads 16-7 with 11:02 left to play in the third period. Stanford’s kickoff went out of the end zone for a touchback. The Aztecs then went on a 62-yard drive from their own 25-yard line. The drive stalled on Stanford’s 11-yard line. The Aztecs made a 30-yard field goal to tail the Cardinal 16-10 with 6:49 left in the quarter. Stanford was at its own 20-yard line and having trouble moving the ball. The Aztec defense was putting pressure on Costello, but he eluded the pass rush and found Arcega-Whiteside streaking down the far sideline. The Aztec defender fell down, and Arcega-Whiteside has his third touchdown of the night. The Cardinal converted the two-point conversion (Costello to Arcega-Whiteside again) to increase the lead to 24-10.

The Cardinal scored with 10:54 left in the game to take a 31-10 lead. Stanford went on a 68-yard drive in 7 plays culminating with a 19-yard strike from Costello to tight end Colby Parkison for the score. The extra point was good.

Stats: K.J.Costello had a terrific evening. He completed 21 passes in 31 attempts good for 332 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

But the running game for Stanford was nonexistent. Bryce Love could not get anything going. He had 18 touches, and all he could muster was a measly 29 yards.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside was Costello’s favorite receiver Friday night. Arcega-Whiteside had six receptions for 226 yards and three touchdowns.

Aztecs quarterback Christian Chapman was 10-for-15 passing for 113 yards.

Cardinal running back Juwan Washington had 24 carries for 158 yards and one touchdown.

40,913 fans watched the Cardinal win their first game of the 2018 season.

Up Next: The Cardinal will host the USC Trojans at Stanford Stadium next Saturday. The game will start at 8:30 pm PDT and will be televised on FOX.

Is it August yet? San Jose State and others gather for Bay Area Football Media Day

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Photo credit: Ana Kieu, Sports Radio Service

By: Ana Kieu

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — College football is just around the corner, and we’re less than five weeks away from the San Jose State Spartans’ season opener versus UC Davis on August 30. But, like you should already know, San Jose State isn’t the only Bay Area college football team, as the Stanford Cardinal and Cal Golden Bears sort of dominate on the other side of the Bay. Also, the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders are the main attractions, as they’re NFL teams that may be dawdling right now, but they’re chock-full of history. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at all the football teams the Bay has to offer–whether they’re good, bad or just okay.

California Golden Bears
Last season, the Golden Bears, who compete in the Pac-12 Conference, were led by first-year head coach Justin Wilcox and played their home games at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif. The Bears finished the 2017 campaign with a 5-7 record (2-7 Pac-12), which wasn’t that bad; but there could always be room for improvement.

Oakland Raiders
The Raiders recently confirmed that they’ll relocate to Las Vegas in the near future, and the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. will just be the home of one team, the Oakland A’s. Anyways, the Raiders’ fan base is very loyal, and I’m pretty sure their fans will travel to Vegas when they can. The Raiders, however, finished the 2017 campaign 6-10 and missed the playoffs, so it’s time for the team to click-clack boom, diversify their rushing attack and improve their defense under the guidance of returning head coach Jon Gruden, who previously coached the team from 1998-2001.

San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have a lot to prove, and this year should be a difficult test for general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was arguably the biggest hero towards the end of the 2017 campaign as he helped the 49ers win five games for a 6-10 record. After that, Garoppolo signed a 5-year, $137.5 million contract extension, which made him the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time. Now, the 49ers have to stay healthy and amp up their offense.

San Jose State Spartans
Oh, where should I start when it comes to the San Jose Spartans? I know, I’m an alumna who was fortunate to cover my alma mater, but there’s a laundry list of items for this team to work on. The youth movement under first-year head coach Brent Brennan was certainly a positive, but the Spartans finished the 2017 campaign with a 2-11 record (1-7 MW) and need to rebuild its secondary, then find ways to stay consistent.

Stanford Cardinal
The Cardinal–coached by head coach David Shaw–is yet another team in the Pac-12 Conference and they play their home games at Stanford Stadium. The Cardinal finished the 2017 campaign with a 9-5 record (7-2 Pac-12). The Cardinal is a pretty good team, but in college football, the offseason antics appear to be almost endless.

Notes
Washington Redskins long snapper and Cal alum Nick Sundberg turned 29 on July 29.

San Jose State has 66 freshmen and sophomore on its roster. With 14 remaining starters and 40 overall letter winners, San Jose State was selected by a media poll to finish 6th in the MW’s West Division. In addition, webflyer.com confirmed that San Jose State will have less than 7,000 air miles of travel for its 5 road games with air travel and a 300-mile round trip to Fresno, Calif. this coming season.

Stanford center Jesse Burkett was named as the Cardinal’s National Scholar-Athlete nominee. Also, Stanford star Bryce Love was named to Walter Camp Football’s Player of Year preseason watch list. Love is a human biology major and an aspiring pediatrician.

NCAA March Madness/Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington: After narrowly getting by BYU, Cardinal have work cut out for them at Oklahoma State

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

On the NCAA March Madness/Stanford Cardinal podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 Stanford (19-15) got by the BYU Cougars 86-83 in close fashion last Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion to take the first step towards the Big Dance.

#2 Reid Travis led Stanford with 25 and 14 rebounds. Travis has been solid all season.

#3 The Cougars had defeated St Mary’s before losing to Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament, but it shows beating St. Mary’s, how potent BYU was and Stanford battled to edge them out.

#4 The Cougars got within two points with nine seconds left in the contest as the Cardinal were leading 85-83 towards the end. BYU made two last shots from the field, but could tie the ball game.

#5 It’s off to Oklahoma State (20-14) Monday night as the Cardinal try to advance it’s a 4:00 pm PDT start

Matt Harrington does podcast commentary on Stanford basketball during March Madness at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Stanford Cardinal scratch BYU Cougars 86-83 in first round of NIT

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By Alexandra Evans

PALO ALTO — The Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball team (11-7 Pac-12, 18-15 overall) qualified for the National Invitation Tournament and kicked off Game 1 against the BYU Cougars (11-7 WCC, 24-10 overall) on Wednesday at Maples Pavilion.

Following the opening tip-off, Cougars’ Jahshire Hardnett acquired the ball. The Cardinal played solid defense and managed to make their way to the other end of the court, though Dorian Pickens missed a three-pointer for the Cardinal. Cougars’ Elijah Bryant then dunked a minute into the period. Cardinal’s Reid Travis was given two free throw opportunities after Luke Worthington was fouled, both of which he missed. TJ Haws came back with a jumper for the Cougars, making the score 4-0 just over two minutes in. Haws was then fouled, allowing Pickens two free throws. He made only one. Travis then added a layup, as did Daejon Davis, and the Cardinal claimed a lead. Michael Humphrey then made a three-pointer to double the Cardinal’s lead. Dorian Pickens also got a three, sustaining the lead. A dunk from Pickens followed solid defensive plays (and a pass) by Travis and Humphrey. With a dunk. Payton Dastrup helped the Cougars catch up and the score was 13-12 with three and a half minutes remaining in the first 10. Bryant got a three for BYU, as did Travis for Stanford, keeping their lead. Bryant then got another three, giving the Cougars a two-point lead (18-16) over the Cardinal. Dastrup attempted a buzzer-beating three, but missed.

The next 10 minutes of the first half opened with a foul on Cougars’ Zac Seljaas and a layup from Dastrup. Josh Sharma attempted a three for Stanford, rebounded by Haws, then passed to Yoeli Childs, who got a layup for the Cougars to make the score 22-16, BYU. Pickens got a three for the Cardinal, then Hardnett got a layup for the Cougars to maintain their lead. Humphrey made a dunk shot, then Pickens made another three just before the shot clock timed out. The Cardinal were then down by only one point (24-23). Humphrey missed a jumper and was then fouled, giving the Cougars the ball, though they missed all attempted shots. Oscar da Silva got a layup for the Cardinal, as did Childs for the Cougars, who sustained their lead by a point with just over four minutes remaining. A dunk from Humphrey reissued the Cardinal a one-point lead, which would shuffle over the course of nearly 30 seconds. Hardnett got a layup with 3:22 left, and Travis made two free throws to give the Cardinal another one-point lead advantage, then turned over to the Cougars after a layup and free throw from Seljaas. The Cougars then had a seven-point advantage with 1:53 left after a jumper by Bryant and a three from Rylan Bergesen. The lead then went up to nine briefly after Bergesen made two free throws.

At halftime, the score was 39-35 BYU. Pickens exceeded the Cardinal with 11 points in the first half, Bryant for the Cougars with 14 points.

Humphrey and Travis opened the third quarter with a layup and a jumper, respectively, to tie the score 39-39. KZ Okpala then handed the lead to the Cardinal again with a jumper, followed by a free throw from Humphrey. Childs added a layup as did Travis, and then Hardnett. The Cougars were determined to reclaim their point lead, and the Cardinal were determined to keep theirs as the one-point lead remained active. Travis got a layup, followed by Haws, to keep the one point difference. Da Silva dunked to bring the Cardinal’s lead to three. A foul on Pickens issued Bergersen two free throw opportunities, both of which he made. Dastrup fouled Travis, who made both free throws and brought the Cardinal’s lead to three. Haws missed a critical three which would have tied the score, and then Okpala got a jumper to give the Cardinal a five-point lead, cut back to three by Bryant, then increased to five again when Travis got a jumper. The Cougars carried the ball swiftly to their side of the court, where Dastrup got a three. Davis then got a layup and the score was 56-52 BYU with 2:11 remaining in the quarter. Another layup from Travis brought the Cardinal to a six-point advantage, which they maintained as Seljaas missed a three and Worthington a layup. Oscar da Silva made a three with seven seconds left, leaving the Cardinal on the brink of a double-digit lead over the Cougars.

The final quarter commenced with layups from Childs and Bryant for the Cougars and Okpala for the Cardinal. Pickens made a three just under two minutes in, and a jumper and a dunk from Travis finally brought the Cardinal’s lead to the double digits (69-58) with seven minutes remaining. This was the first point in the game where either team had exceeded the other by more than 10 points. Humphrey then added a point when he made one free throw, and Pickens added two more with two free throws. Worthington got a layup to bring the Cardinal’s lead to 10 even, and then was brought back to single digits after one layup from Haws and two from Hardnett. The Cougars then only trailed the Cardinal by four points.

Over the course of the final two and a half minutes, a free throw from Pickens, a three pointer from Davis, a layup from Dastrup, two free throws from Davis, a layup from Haws, another two free throws from Davis, a free throw from Worthington, a dunk from Okpala, a jumper from Bryant, a free throw from da Silva, a layup and a free throw from Bryant, a free throw from Pickens, a layup and a three pointer from Hardnett, and a free throw from Davis, the Cardinal took home an 86-83 win over the Cougars.

At the end of the game, Travis exceeded the Cardinal with 25 points, and Bryant led the Cougars with 28 points.

The Stanford Cardinal will face the Oklahoma State Cowboys on March 19.

Holiday, Bruins oust Cardinal from Pac-12 tournament with 88-77 win

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, March 08, 2018

UCLA guard Aaron Holiday sliced and diced Stanford to the tune of a career-high 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds Thursday, as the Bruins defeated the Cardinal 88-77 in the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.

Holiday made 12-of-25 field goal attempts, including 5-of-9 behind the arc. Thomas Welsh added 18 points and 11 rebounds for UCLA, which advances to the semifinals against No. 15 Arizona.

KZ Okpala led Stanford with 23 points. Reid Travis added 17 points and a team-high 14 rebounds for the Cardinal (18-15).

The Bruins (21-10) started quickly, withstood a late first-half Stanford run and maintained a consistent lead over the Cardinal in the second half. UCLA hit seven of its first 11 shots, building a 30-17 lead before Stanford responded with a 15-2 run to tie the game at 32-32.

Stanford closed its deficit to 44-40 by halftime, but, with point guard Daejon Davis in foul trouble, never could make a sustained comeback. Davis committed his fourth personal foul one minute and six seconds into the second half.

Going into the game, UCLA was considered a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament, and Stanford had a slim chance to reach the bubble. The Cardinal won their first meeting with UCLA in double overtime, and the Bruins won by 16 at Pauley Pavilion in the teams’ last meeting.

Welsh became the 14th player in Pac-12 history to reach the 1,000-rebound plateau, now with 1,003 – fourth most in UCLA history. He passed the 1,000-point mark in December.

Stanford, whose chance to reach the NCAA Tournament dimmed considerably with the loss, is likely headed to the National Invitation Tournament.

Cal ends season with huge 76-58 loss to Stanford in Pac-12 Tournament

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

By Joey Friedman
March 8, 2018
Sports Radio Service

College basketball fans were treated to a third installment of the Cal-Stanford men’s basketball rivalry series this season on Wednesday in which the No. 5-seed Stanford Cardinal beat the No. 12-seed California Golden Bears 76-58 to end the Bears’ 2017-2018 campaign, while the Cardinal simultaneously collected their first Pac-12 tournament win since 2015.

Th Bears only had two conference wins this season, but one of them did come against the Cardinal in the conference opener. In an incredible comeback against their rivals on the road, Cal overcame a 17-point deficit with 10 minutes to go and 97.4% win probability for Stanford with three and a half minutes left to win by a score of 77-74 and to improve to an even record.

Coming off of what would prove to be one of the highlights of the season, Cal was looking to have a resurgent second half on the backs of senior Marcus Lee, junior Don Coleman, freshmen Justice Sueing, and Darius McNeill. Their only other win of the season came against Oregon State on February 3rd.

In round two against the Cardinal on February 18th, Cal tied the game up at 67 apiece with four and a half minutes left, but couldn’t hold on at home as Stanford evened the season series by winning 77-73.

In the third game, Stanford had the lead the whole way. As mentioned by Cal head coach Wyking Jones after the game, Cal started slow and was never really able to put together a run to gain momentum nor were they able to get enough of a rhythm going to chip away at the Stanford lead which was at 11 points at the half behind 13 points and five assists from Reid Travis and 10 points from Dorian Pickens. Travis would finish with 19 points and 13 rebounds, Pickens would finish with 16 points, as Daejon Davis and Josh Sharma would both contribute 12 points.

Darius McNeill added all 19 of his points to Cal’s total in the first half as Juhwan Harris-Dyson added seven in the second half to finish at 11 points. Justice Sueing finished with eight points and five rebounds to compliment Don Coleman’s eight boards. Darius McNeill shot 7-17 from the field and 5-10 from beyond the arc to send his season mark for threes to 67, a single-season freshman school record.

Cal was out-passed, out-rebounded, and out-shot all around by the Cardinal; however, they forced the Cardinal to turn the ball over more often than Cal turned the ball over. Unfortunately, Stanford capitalized more off of Cal’s fewer turnovers, collecting fourteen points off Cal’s 11 turnovers, while the Bears were only able to convert Stanford’s 16 turnovers into nine points.

What’s Next?
Stanford: The Cardinal look to keep their slim hopes for an NCAA tournament berth alive as they take on the No. 4 UCLA Bruins in the Pac-12 tournament.

Cal: This year’s performance can be viewed in a positive light when looking forward: a school record for losses in a season can only be improved upon. First-year head coach Wyking Jones looks to focus almost exclusively on individual player improvement during the offseason. With another year of experience for some exciting freshmen, a couple of four-star recruits already committed, and three more ESPN Top 100 recruits still considering Berkeley, next year could easily be a very successful one for the Golden Bears.

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Stanford dominates Cal 76-58 Pac-12 Tournament; face UCLA this afternoon

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

On the Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Jerry:

1 Turning to Stanford (17-14) men’s basketball, they played Cal (8-23) last night in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cardinal dominated all game long.

2 The Cardinal were beaten last time these two teams met and they made sure they weren’t going to lose this time.

3 The Cardinal’s usual offensive core came through with Dorian Pickens, Michael Humphrey, and Reid Travis.

4  Jerod Haase says he believes that Stanford is an NCAA Tournament team.

Jerry Feitelberg does the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.co

 

 

 

Stanford routs Bears 75-58, moves on to face UCLA in Pac-12 Tournament

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gostanford.com photo: Stanford’s Travis Reid throws down against the Cal Bears on Wednesday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas in the Cardinal’s first win in the Pac 12 Tournament

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Reid Travis helped No. 5-seed Stanford get off to a rolling start against No. 12 California in the opening round of the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas.

Travis led the Cardinal (18-14) with 19 points and 13 rebounds on 7 of 11 field goal shooting in Stanford’s 76-58 defeat of the Golden Bears. Dorian Pickens was next on the Cardinal scoring list with 16 points. “We’re certainly excited to be able to move on,” said Stanford head coach Jerod Haase “I think in tournament situations, you do build momentum once you’re in the tournament. So we feel like we have some momentum moving forward. We were able to catch Cal on a cold night. They didn’t shoot the ball great, but I thought our defense was for the most part active. We executed the game plan how we wanted.” Haase told gostanford.com.

Josh Sharma and Daejon Davis each scored 12 points for the Cardinal, and Oscar da Silva added nine points and eight boards. Stanford held a 51-41 rebounding edge.

By winning the rubber game of their season series, Stanford ousted Cal from the tournament. The Bears beat Stanford in their first meeting at The Farm for one of Cal’s two Pac-12 wins. The Cardinal won the rematch in Berkeley.

Stanford dominated the Bears at both ends of the floor. The Cardinal defense held Cal to 28 percent shooting while maintaining a 30-18 advantage on points in the paint.”A big emphasis for me is playing with the motor and just trying to get us started the right way when we start the game,” Travis said. ”So the more I can do that, the more guys got to start helping down and trying to make the right reads, the right passes.”

Travis had the hot hand early, scoring 11 points in the opening 10 minutes as the Cardinal built a 12-point lead. As a team, Stanford connected on 16 of 29 shots in the first half and led 29-28 at halftime.

In the second half, the Cardinal led by as many as 24 (63-39). Though, Stanford isn’t quite on the bubble for the NCAA tournament, the possibility remains alive after defeating Cal. But the Cardinal must defeat No. 4-seed UCLA in the second round.

Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball Podcast with Matt Harrington: The Sean Miller story was the biggest distraction on Stanford’s road trip

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zimbio.com photo file: Arizona Wildcats’ head coach Sean Miller made his return to the bench last Thursday against Stanford. Miller has denied that he offered to pay Wildcats’ Deandre Ayton $100,000 to come play for the school.

On the Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball Podcast with Matt Harrington:

Stanford’s timing to be at the University of Arizona last Thursday was all the rage in the news and sports media world. UA is under FBI investigation and the Wildcats head coach Sean Miller, who is accused in a wiretap, according to ESPN; that he offered Deandre Ayton $100,000. Miller did not coach last week Saturday against Oregon, but his return to the bench Thursday was one for the books.

Before the media scrum who were trying to get a quote from Miller reporters even from major news organizations were covering the Miller story and it was Miller’s first game since the story broke and all reporters wanted to know if Miller did offer Ayton $100,000. Miller put out an statement saying that the allegations were false and concocted. That he was being defamed by ESPN and that he never offered any money to Ayton. Ayton also said that he never got an offer of any kind from coach Miller.

Daniel has details of Stanford’s trip to Arizona last Thursday which was a media circus on the podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Cardinal survive wild finish to topple Sun Devils 84-83 in season finale

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By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 3, 2018

TEMPE, Ariz. – Playing in the Pac-12’s version of a home-away-from-home game, Phoenix native Dorian Pickens torched the Arizona State Sun Devils (20-10, 8-10 Pac-12) with 20 second-half points as the Stanford Cardinal (17-14, 11-7 Pac-12) hung on for a wild 84-83 win at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday afternoon.

“It was one of those things where (the emotions of coming back home) doesn’t really hit you until after the game,” said Pickens, a former Pinnacle High School graduate. “In the pregame, I’m just thinking about my teammates and trying to get the win. We were able to do that and my teammates helped send me out the right way.”

“It felt great to be able to come back home and come out of it with a victory. I had a lot of people here, maybe 20, 25, a lot of friends and family, and all of the above!”

On his offensive exploits in the second half, Pickens said, “I just wanted to be more aggressive, around the perimeter, especially.”

“He’s just a big-time player,” Cardinal Coach Jerod Haase said of Pickens. “It’s not really a surprise, but a great feeling to see him do that, especially at home in front of family and friends.”

“To win on the road against a team like (ASU) meant a lot.”

Reid Travis scored 24 points (8-of-14 field goals) and grabbed 14 of Stanford’s 45 rebounds. Kezie Okpala added 18 points and 10 boards for the Cardinal, who hit 51 percent (27-of-53) from the field.

Going into Saturday’s regular season finale, Travis was averaging 22.3 points and 10.0 rebounds in his last four games.

Travis described the final five minutes as “hectic. I wish we would have taken care of the ball a little bit more, but we got stops when we needed to, so I couldn’t be happier with the way we finished out the game.”

The victory gave Stanford a shot at finishing in the top four of the Pac-12 standings and a first-round bye in the conference’s upcoming postseason tournament in Las Vegas.

“In the non-conference, we battled and stuck together, which was really cool,” Haase said. “After the loss at home to Cal, our team has done some nice things. I think there’s still a long way to go with our quality of play, but the mental side, the competitiveness, is really cool to see as a coach.”

“Regardless of where we wind up, we’re going into (the Pac-12 tournament) excited.”

The Sun Devils, who struggled in conference play after a blazing start, look for redemption in the Pac-12 tournament. Tra Holder led ASU’s balanced attack with 19 points, followed by Shannon Evans II with 17 and 14 points each by Kodi Justice and Remy Martin.

Holder, Evans and Justice each hit three 3-pointers as the Devils were 10-of-27 behind the arc.

“This game is who we are,” ASU Coach Bobby Hurley said. “We have an amazing will to win, and character. The make the plays we made and claw our way back, we gave ourselves a chance to win.”

“I love my chances with the group I have against whoever we play in the postseason in Vegas and in the NCAA tournament.”

The Cardinal led by 19 points less than four minutes into the second half after opening the half with a 15-1 run after leading 40-35 at the break. But with basketball being a game of runs, Arizona State battled back with a 16-4 run, capped by Kimani Lawrence’s layup at 12:45, pulling the Devils to within 59-54.

“In 20 or 18 minutes against a team like this, there was never a comfort level at all,” Haase said. “Our guys stayed steadfast, continued to score on the offensive end, and we got enough stops on defense.”

Hurley said, “We got behind and always fought to get back in it. I thought the difference in the game could be as simple as the last four minutes of the first half, and we had empty possessions where we didn’t make shots that we usually make.”

“To start the second half, we didn’t have enough energy and (Stanford) was able to generate the lead that they did.”

Over the next three minutes, the Cardinal pushed their lead back to 11 on a Pickens 3-pointer, but ASU battled back again. Kodi Justice drained a 3 with 3:05 to play as the Sun Devils used a 5-minute, 16-7 run to cut their deficit to 79-77.

Another 3-pointer by Justice with 1:13 remaining tied the game at 82-82, but Arizona State could never surge ahead while both teams struggled at the free throw line down the stretch.

Daejon Davis, playing with four fouls, hit a jumper at :42 to break the deadlock, and on the ensuing possession, Justice missed a pair of free throws with :20 left. Two seconds later, Pickens missed two free throws, and after Josh Sharma missed a layup, Justice sank 1-of-2 foul shots to cut Stanford’s lead to 84-83 with 5 seconds remaining.

“Daejon has done so many great things throughout the year and he made a key basket late again,” Haase said. “For a freshman, he has a level of poise and calmness about him that, I think, spreads to the rest of the team.”

After Travis turned the ball over on an inbound play, ASU had one final possession, but Martin missed a short jumper as time expired.

“We made some mistakes, but they made some too,” Haase said. “There were some tough shots, some tough 3s. I thought we played with a great deal of poise and I thought this game would have a lot of ebbs and flows. And it did.”

The Pac-12 Tournament starts Wednesday in Las Vegas.