ROME – The 2015-16 Stanford men's basketball season is underway.
The Cardinal opened its six-game exhibition tour of Italy with a 75-26 victory over Stella Azzurra Roma Tuesday evening in Rome. The teams played three 10-minute quarters and the score re-set after each period during Tuesday's exhibition.
“I thought it was a good way to start the trip off,” Stanford head men's basketball coach Johnny Dawkins said. “After the long flight and getting adjusted to the time change, I thought our guys really came out focused. I was pleased with the way our freshmen performed. You can see they were still adjusting to the speed and level of play, but all-in-all I thought they had productive performances.”
Sophomore Dorian Pickens scored a team-high 15 points, freshman Josh Sharma finished with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and junior Marcus Allen contributed 10 points and five steals to guide the Cardinal in the victory.
Sophomore Reid Travis got the Cardinal on the board in an emphatic way, opening the game's scoring with a dunk less than a minute into the contest. Stanford continued to score from there, completing the quarter with the 24-9 triumph.
Senior Rosco Allen opened the second period with the layup and drew contact to put the Cardinal on the board first. Stanford scored the first 13 points of the period, highlighted by a pass from sophomore Robert Cartwright to a cutting Travis for the dunk. The Cardinal took the second quarter, 26-8.
Pickens opened the third quarter with a three and the Cardinal out-scored Stella Azzurra, 25-9, in the period. Rosco Allen and Sharma highlighted the scoring burst in the period with an alley-oop as the senior found the freshman cutting towards the basket.
With a victory in its exhibition opener, Stanford travels to Florence on Wednesday. The Cardinal will next take the court in Bologna on Thursday evening against Virtus Bologna.
