Men’s basketball falls in nail-biting loss to No. 6 Oregon

Feb. 28, 2017, 12:05 a.m.

Stanford men’s basketball (14-14, 6-10 Pac-12) put in a tremendous effort against the Ducks but ultimately fell short to No. 6 Oregon (26-4, 15-2) on senior night in a rowdy Maples Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.

Stanford junior forward Reid Travis had a chance to send the game into overtime with 9 seconds remaining. Senior guard Christian Sanders lobbed a pass to Travis at the free-throw line where Travis faced the basket and drove to his left. He was met by two more Oregon defenders, which caused him to spin

right. Travis lost possession and turned the ball over as time expired.

Travis dominated the entire game as he dropped 27 points on efficient 10-13 shooting to go along with 14 rebounds. Oregon could not keep Travis from the offensive glass as he accrued six offensive boards.

Stanford junior guard Dorian Pickens had himself a game from beyond the arc. He hit six of his eight threes for 18 points and every made three was critical to keeping Stanford in the game.

The Cardinal showed incredible mettle after Oregon took a 12-point lead with nine minutes remaining in the first half. Stanford went on a 21-15 run to end the half, cutting the lead to six heading into the break.

Stanford tied the game with 12 minutes left after a Travis jump shot. Oregon took back the lead but the Cardinal managed to tie the game four more times before finally taking the lead on another Travis basket with three minutes remaining.

The game was tied at 73 apiece heading into the final minute.

Oregon was able to drain almost a minute of game time after a series of offensive rebounds led to a wild game-winning tip shot by Ducks junior forward Jordan Bell with 14 seconds remaining. Travis’s failed attempt would subsequently end the game.

After an unpolished first half on offense, the Cardinal finished with 49 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent from three. The Cardinal found success on the boards, grabbing 32 rebounds to Oregon’s 25. 

Despite the rebounding effort, Cardinal defense left much to be desired as they allowed Oregon to shoot 51 percent from the field and a 37 percent from downtown. Their defensive effort in the second half was improved, but their inability to prevent shots from the paint allowed the Ducks to maintain composure as the momentum grew on the Stanford side.

Seniors Sanders, Grant Verhoeven, and Marcus Allen were honored before the game as part of senior night.

“There’s a little extra when you see guys like Christian, Marcus and Grant shedding tears when they’re getting called up,” said Reid Travis. “It’s the last time they get to compete on this court … Just looking at that, there’s no choice but to be motivated.”

Stanford will finish the regular season with a pair of road games against Colorado and Utah. The Cardinal play Colorado (16-13, 6-10) on Thursday at 6 p.m.

 

Contact Jose Saldana at jsaldana ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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