STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Dorian Pickens scored 17 points and Stanford held Colorado State to its lowest point total since the 2014-15 season with a 56-49 victory Sunday afternoon at Maples Pavilion to open the Jerod Haase era 4-0.
"They certainly did a great job playing a very compact defense, but we also made some mistakes," said Haase.
"We didn't capitalize on certain things. We need to make a few more open shots. The biggest thing is we need to get the ball inside."
Pickens connected on his first four three-point attempts and made 4-of-6 from three-point range overall.
Stanford, which won its third home game in a span of six days, also got 11 points from Reid Travis.
"They made it tough for us to get the ball inside," Stanford point guard Robert Cartwright said. "It's a great opportunity for us to grow. We haven't really been challenged this way. We have to find ways to win and we did that."
Cartwright finished with nine points and a career-best six assists for the Cardinal.
The Rams (2-1) hadn't been held under 50 points since a 56-43 loss to San Diego State on March 13, 2015.
Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy played a young lineup that included as many as three sophomores and a freshman at times.
"We expect this is going to be a time when we're going to learn. It's as good a defensive team as I've had in a long time for such young kids," Eustachy said. "They weren't more physical than us. I thought we tried really hard. You just can't overcome 20 turnovers."
Prentiss Nixon led Colorado State with 15 points. Braden Koelliker, who averaged 14.5 points in the team's first two games, was scoreless.
"We were close against a very good Stanford team," Eustachy said. "I'm not sure our guys believed we could beat them, and I thought we could. We'll get it right."
Stanford will now travel across the country to Orlando, Fla. to compete in the Advocare Invitational. The Cardinal will face Miami on Thursday, Nov. 25, at 11:30 a.m. PT.