Reid Travis returned to the Stanford lineup unexpectedly Thursday night and helped lead the Cardinal to an impressive 84-54 Pac-12 victory over visiting Washington State in a men’s basketball contest.
It was unexpected because the school announced he would be out indefinitely, a period of time that seemed to suggest more than the two games he missed, with a right shoulder injury.
Travis attended practice Wednesday and then participated in Thursday morning’s shootaround. The team doctors cleared him and he was in the starting lineup.
“I felt great,” he said. “I don’t think the doctors would have cleared me if I wasn’t 100 percent. I worked on strengthening this week.”
The last time Travis was day-to-day, with a stress reaction in his foot, he missed 22 games.
The Cardinal (9-8, 1-4 Pac-12) could not afford that this season.
“He’s our horse, our go-to guy,” Stanford point guard Robert Cartwright said. “He’s a rock and I’m happy to have him back.”
Cartwright also enjoyed a pleasant evening, recording a career-high in scoring for a second time in as many games. He’s been working on his 3-point shot and he made it look easy against the Cougars, making five of the seven he attempted.
“That’s a long time coming,” Cartwright said. “I’ve been working on it, getting my habits right.”
Cartwright scored 21 points and also led the Cardinal with seven assists. He was one of four players to finish with double figures in scoring. Travis chipped in 17, Dorian Pickens added 18 and Marcus Sheffield had 10.
Stanford, which avoided its first five-game losing streak since 1993, gets a chance to expand on its winning ways Saturday at 5 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks), when Washington (8-8, 1-3) visits for its only game against the Cardinal.
The Huskies (8-8, 1-3) also opened conference play flat-footed, losing at home to the Cougars. They dropped a 69-59 decision at Cal on Thursday.
“We want to protect our home court better than we did last time,” said Cartwright, referring to a couple of losses to Arizona and Arizona State.
“Any win is a good feeling, especially after dropping four in a row,” Travis said. “That’s never good. You have to keep grinding.”
Stanford shot out to a 20-3 lead and never looked back, building a 20-point edge by the midpoint of the first half. The Cardinal led by as many as 36 points and shot nearly 55 percent from the floor.
The field goal percentage was augmented by the terrific shooting of Cartwright, Travis and Pickens. They combined to shoot 62 percent (23-for-37).