STANFORD, Calif. — Freshman Daejon Davis did not have the best of games and Jarod Haase still wanted the ball in his hands. He made the right choice.
Davis hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds to play, lifting Stanford to an 86-84 victory over Washington State on Saturday, its third straight win.
With the game tied, Davis held onto the ball for 20 seconds and then made his move toward the basket. He was fouled and made both foul shots, the second following a WSU timeout.
“He did a lot nice things but honestly it was not one of his better games,” Haase said. “But I wanted the ball in his hands and I wanted him to make a play.”
Davis finished with eight points, seven rebound and six assists.
Reid Travis scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Cardinal (16-13, 10-6 Pac-12), who assured themselves of at least a .500 season. Freshman KZ Okpala added 20 points, one shy of his season-high and Michael Humphrey scored 16, leaving him two shy of 1,000 career points.
“They’re not freshmen anymore,” Humphrey said. “Since the non-conference games, they have really grown up. They provide big for us.”
Evergreen High grad Robert Franks scored 19 points to lead the Cougars (11-17, 3-13), who have lost four straight to Stanford and 11 of 14 overall. Malachi Flynn and Drick Bernstine each added 16 points, a season high for Bernstine. Milan Acquaah had 10 points, all in the first half.
Flynn missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
“The last four games we’ve been a different team,” Cougars coach Ernie Kent said. “We’ve played tough, we played smart, we closed, we don’t give up, we came back on teams. For us to do this on this floor, against a veteran Stanford team on senior night, was tremendous growth for us. We didn’t get the win, but we had a chance to win, with the ball in our hand, I’ll take that on this floor anytime.”
Franks dunked with 36 seconds remaining to complete a 14-point comeback by the Cougars. Flynn led the surge after the Cougars fell behind 69-55 midway through the second half.
Stanford held the lead for most of the game, but the Cougars stayed in it by shooting over 56 percent from the field, and nearly 48 percent from 3-point range.
“We couldn’t guard them,” Haase said. “We tried everything. They’re a difficult team to guard.”
Dorian Pickens added 14 points for the Cardinal.
FINAL FOUR REDUX
Members of the 1998 Stanford team that reached the Final Four before falling to Kentucky in overtime were in town for a 20-year gathering, including coach Mike Montgomery. Peter Sauer, who died unexpectedly during a pickup game several years ago, was brought up. He served as a team captain, as a junior. “Pete made a huge impact,” backup point guard Mike McDonald said. “He got every single ounce of ability out of his body.”
BIG PICTURE
Washington State: The Cougars won their first road game of the season at California on Thursday. They ended a nine-game road losing streak. … Since opening the season 6-0, Washington State has not won two consecutive games. The Cougars have already set the school for 3-pointers made and could threaten the Pac-12 record of 354. They hit 11 3s on Saturday and have 313 this season.
Stanford: Seniors Michael Humphrey and Dorian Pickens have climbed the all-time lists. Humphrey reached 670 rebounds during Saturday’s game. Pickens is in the top 10 with 179 3-pointers. Humphrey needed 18 points to join Stanford’s 1,000-point club.
UP NEXT
Washington State hosts Oregon on Thursday.
