Stanford men’s basketball (6-1) came in fifth place at the Advocare Invitational by defeating Seton Hall (4-2) 66-52 on Sunday in Orlando. The Cardinal began the tournament with high expectations after accumulating a perfect 4-0 record to open the season.
In their first matchup at the Invitational, the Cardinal were defeated 67-53 by the University of Miami (4-2). The Cardinal led for the majority of the game, but a late rally by the Hurricanes saw Miami take the win in the end.
Stanford began the game in dominating fashion, as it quickly claimed a seven-point lead against Miami in the opening minutes of the first half. The Hurricanes regrouped and went on a run to tie the game at 23 apiece with two minutes remaining. The Cardinal answered with their own run to end the half with a four-point lead.
The second half began similarly to the start of the first period as Stanford built an eight-point lead over the Hurricanes (33-25). Miami responded by going on an 8-0 run to tie the game again. The lead then seesawed between teams for a few minutes until sophomore guard Anthony Lawrence Jr.’s three-pointer put Miami up (48-45) for good with nine minutes remaining.
The Cardinal would go on one more run to cut the Hurricanes’ lead down to four (56-52) with three minutes remaining, but they would only score one more point while Miami tacked on another 10. Stanford was outscored by Miami 44-26 in the second half, and the Hurricanes shot a blistering 62.5 percent in the final period.
Junior guard Dorian Pickens led the Cardinal in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Junior forward Reid Travis continued his double-double exploits as he scored 11 points and gobbled up 10 boards. It was Travis’s third double-double in five games.
Stanford’s opponent on the second day of the invitational was Indiana State (2-3). The Sycamores fell to the Cardinal 65-62 in a wild finish as Pickens hit the game-winning three with 2.0 seconds left.
Pickens and Travis led all scorers with 19 points apiece. Travis ended the game with another double-double after picking up 12 rebounds.
Pickens’s game-winning three gave Stanford the lead after Indiana State tied the game (62-62) off a three-pointer from junior guard Brenton Scott. Scott led the Sycamores in scoring with 13 points. Stanford shot 36.5 percent and out-rebounded Indiana State 47-31. The Cardinal committed 18 turnovers to the Sycamores’ seven, and Indiana State was only able to score 14 points off the turnovers.
Stanford concluded the tournament with the fifth place game against Seton Hall. The Cardinal trailed early in the first half but managed to tie the game heading into the break (26-26) after scoring the final eight points of the period.
The Cardinal came out of the break on a tear as a 15-1 run gave Stanford a 43-31 lead that it would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Stanford dominated the second half offensivel, outscoring Seton Hall 40-26 in the final period.
Pickens stuffed the box score as he scored 21 points, dished out two assists, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals. He has scored double-digits in 11 out of the last 12 games stretching back to last season. He was named to the Advocare Invitational All-Tournament team after averaging 18.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals.
“Dorian is so smooth, so confident, so fluid,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said.
“Our whole thing was how good Pickens is,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “He’s really picked it up from last year. He’s just a consistent, solid player.”
Travis failed to accrue another double-double but had a solid 16 points and seven rebounds for Stanford. Senior forward Grant Verhoeven was the defensive anchor for the Cardinal as he drew five Seton Hall charges to go along with his four rebounds and two steals.
The Cardinal will come back home to welcome No. 15 Saint Mary’s (5-0) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Maples Pavilion.
Contact Jose Saldana at jsaldana ‘at’ stanford.edu.