Stanford >> Stanford opened Pac-12 play with a 71-56 victory over Washington State on Friday despite the sudden loss of freshman power forward Reid Travis, who is out at least a month with a stress fracture to his upper left thigh.

Travis, a 6-foot-8 McDonald’s All-American from Minneapolis, had started all 11 of the Cardinal’s games and was the team’s leading rebounder at 6.9 per contest.

“It’s definitely a big blow,” said Stanford senior Anthony Brown, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds Friday. “Reid is a big body. He brought a level of physicality.”

For now, the Cardinal (9-3, 1-0 Pac-12) will have to plow through conference play without its budding star.

Travis underwent minor arthroscopic knee surgery in the summer on the same leg. Coach Johnny Dawkins doesn’t know what happened this time. He said Travis had been experiencing lingering pain for the past two weeks. An examination revealed the stress fracture.

But the forward was expected to start until Thursday. Instead, seldom-used 6-9 Grant Verhoeven replaced Travis. Verhoeven failed to score but got six rebounds in 15 minutes before fouling out.

Whether it was the lineup change or something else, Stanford had to overcome a dismal start in the Pac-12 opener for both schools in front of 4,373 fans at Maples Pavilion.

The cold-shooting Cardinal could have used the reliable Reid after trailing 13-2 to start the year. But after making only one of its first 10 shots, Stanford settled down to tie the score with 6 ½ minutes left in the first half thanks to the unrelated Allens — reserves Marcus and Rosco Allen, who combined for 14 points.

“My job is to get these guys going,” Marcus Allen said after scoring six of his eight points by halftime.

Washington State (6-7, 0-1) has not won an away game in nearly two years. The Cougars have lost all five on the road this season, but threatened to end the streak in coach Ernie Kent’s debut year in Pullman.

Playing aggressive defense, the team held Stanford leading scorer Chasson Randle to one first-half point as the senior guard missed all seven of his shots.

“We had an opportunity to really put them in a big hole, but we took some really quick shots — out of rhythm shots — consequently we missed those shots,” Kent said. “I thought our guys ‘hunted’ a little too much — they had a look, then they wanted to jack it up real quick.”

Washington State didn’t wither when Stanford tied the score 17-17 with a 15-4 comeback before halftime. But the Cougars had only themselves to blame after making 18 of 29 free throws in the second half.

Dawkins liked how his players responded defensively in changing the game’s complexion. But he was not excited about allowing 39 total free throws.

“That’s not typical of us,” he said. “That’s not our defense. Our fouling defense was as bad as I’ve seen it.”

In other words, Stanford escaped one because of Washington State’s inability to take advantage. Those missed free throws and Randle’s 17 second-half points spelled disaster for the Cougars.

It also reinvigorated Stanford, which plays host to No. 21 Washington on Sunday in an early marquee league matchup.

The second-half push led to the Cardinal’s fourth consecutive victory, fifth triumph in six games. Center Stefan Nastic imposed his will inside once Stanford settled down to get 16 points and seven rebounds, and Rosco Allen added 10 points.