Dorian Pickens had the closest thing to a hot hand in Stanford's 56-49 victory over visiting Colorado State on Sunday afternoon at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.

Pickens scored 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range for Stanford (4-0). Reid Travis added 11 points.

Prentiss Nixon scored 15 points to lead Colorado State (2-1).

The teams exchanged leads a few times in the opening minutes until Pickens made a 3-pointer to put Stanford up 13-10 with just under 14 minutes remaining, giving the Cardinal a lead it would not relinquish. Stanford went up 25-16 on another 3-pointer by Pickens and extended the lead to 11 on a layup by Robert Cartwright.

Stanford led by as many as 13 late in the half and carried a 35-23 advantaged into the break. The Cardinal shot 42.9 percent from the field in the opening half while holding the Rams to 29.2 percent shooting.

The Cardinal took a 14-point lead early in the second period, but the Rams battled back. They got within seven on a 3-pointer by Nixon and later clawed to within six on a dunk by Che Bob. Stanford responded with a 7-0 run to take a 47-34 lead on a layup by Cartwright.

The Rams got within seven on two free throws by Nixon and got within six on another free throw by Nixon with 3:20 to play, but a big basket by Christian Sanders helped the Cardinal hold on.

Stanford didn't shoot the ball particularly well. The Cardinal made just 35.8 percent from the field, 5 of 18 from 3-point range and 13 of 22 from the free-throw line. Colorado State fared worse in most respects, shooting 29.8 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from beyond the arc while committing 20 turnovers.