Stanford wins thriller in Tempe

Stanford finished the regular season in thrilling fashion, doing just enough to escape Arizona State with an 84-83 road victory.

With 15 seconds remaining and a two point lead, Dorian Pickens missed a pair of free throws. Josh Sharma grabbed an offensive rebound with 14 seconds to go, but his putback fell off the rim. Kodi Justice drew a foul call to disqualify Daejon Davis as the clock read 5 seconds.

Justic went just one for two from the stripe, but that’s where things really got wild. Stanford threw the ball away on the ensuing inbounds, leaving time for Arizona State to get a look at the win. They threw the ball inbounds, launched a pass to Remy Martin. Robert Cartwright, playing in relief of Davis, got just enough of the ball to cause the desperation shot to miss and give the Cardinal the victory.

Stanford built the lead as high as 19 in the second half. Reid Travis was eating the Devils alive inside for the entire game. His freshman teammate Kezie Okpala was slicing into the lane at will. When Stanford really got going, though, was when Phoenix native Dorian Pickens got going from distance. The senior was held scoreless during the 40-35 first half. After the break though, he poured in 20 points on five threes.

Arizona State caught up in a hurry, largely due to forcing twenty Stanford turnovers. The hot shooting Sun Devils found their three point stroke, as the thirty footers of Justice, Holder, and company started to fall. Remy Martin was a pest on both hands, and a real instigator of the run.

For the game, Travis finished with 24 and 14. Kezie Okpala added a double double, with 18 points and 10 rebounds. His 7 turnovers nearly spelled disaster for the Cardinal, but his ability to get timely buckets was big. Davis had just 8 points on the night and fouled out, but he hit a critical go ahead shot with 40 seconds to go that kept the Cardinal ahead for good.

Arizona State was led by their three senior guards Tra Holder, Kodi Justice, and Shannon Evans. The trio scored 19, 14, and 17 points respectively in their final home game. Remy Martin added 14 and 7 assists off the bench. The Sun Devils had a perfect non-conference record, including a win in Allen Fieldhouse against Kansas. They were once ranked in the top 5 in the country, but after going just 8-10 in conference play, they find themselves a bubble team.

Stanford finished 11-7 in conference play after a frustrating and injury-plagued preseason. Depending on the outcomes of USC vs UCLA and Utah vs Colorado, the Cardinal will go into the PAC-12 tournament seeded somewhere between third and fifth. The top four receive first round byes. They will be in action next on either Wednesday or Thursday from Las Vegas.