PORTLAND – Stanford ran into a hot-shooting Florida team Thursday evening, as the No. 7 Gators used 15 three-pointers to defeat the Cardinal, 108-87, in the quarterfinal round of the PK80 Invitational at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Stanford will move on to play Ohio State on Friday at 6 p.m. PT at the Moda Center in game that will air on ESPN2.
Junior Reid Travis posted his fifth 20-point game in six contests this season, with 23 points against Florida. He also collected five rebounds in against the Gators. Fellow junior Robert Cartwright came within four points of his career-high, finishing with a season-best 17 points and four assists.
Florida, led by Egor Koulechov's game-high 26 points, surged out to an early lead on the strength of its excellent shooting from long range.
The Gators connected on 9 of their first 12 three-point attempts and led by as many as 25 (58-33) in the first half. They made 13 three-pointers in the first half, shooting 72.2 percent from beyond the arc, to take a 59-39 lead into the break.
The Gators continued their strong shooting performance in the second half, shooting 58.5 percent overall for the game and 68.2 percent from three-point range.
Stanford, which trailed by as many as 38 in the contest, out-scored the Gators 29-12 over the final 8:27 to cut into the Florida lead.
The Cardinal shot a season-best 54.0 percent on the night, coming within two points of its season-high point total of 89 in the season opener against Cal Poly.
Senior Michael Humphrey was Stanford's third guy in double figures on the night, posting 10 points. Freshman Daejon Davis added nine points and a career-high seven assists for the Cardinal on Thursday.
Thursday's defeat was Stanford's first to Florida. The Cardinal still leads the all-time series, 4-1.
