Deja Vu: Cal Beats Stanford In Pac-12 Tourney

Highlights | Postgame Interview: Mark Fox | Postgame Interview: Andre Kelly | Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Quotes (PDF) | Boxscore

LAS VEGAS – California broke open a close contest with a 24-7 game-ending run as the Golden Bears defeated Stanford in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament for the second year in a row, this time by a 76-58 score, at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday night.
 
Cal, which became just the second No. 11 seed to win a game in the tournament, advances to play No. 3 Colorado Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Last year, the Bears downed the Cardinal, 63-51, which turned out to be the final game of the 2019-20 season as the remainder of the year was canceled due to the pandemic.
 
Matt Bradley paced the Bears with 19 points, making 7-of-11 shots from the floor, while also grabbing six rebounds and tying his career high with six assists. Ryan Betley added 13 points, with 11 coming in the second half, while Andre Kelly had 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
Cal never trailed and shot 53.8 percent from the floor and made 9-of-17 3-point attempts. With his three 3-pointers, Bradley moved up to 10th on Cal's all-time list, now with 155 shots made behind the arc.
 
Jaiden Delaire led Stanford with 14 points, with Michael O'Connell and Oscar da Silva scoring 12 apiece.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Cal held Stanford without a point for the first ­4:27 of the game, building a 6-0 lead, and maintained an advantage the rest of the way. The Bears went inside early and scored their first 14 points in the paint. Kuany Kuany provided a spark off the bench by pouring in eight points – his high for a Pac-12 game this season. At the break, Cal led, 35-29.
 
The Bears held onto the lead through the second half as neither team was able to make much of a run until the closing minutes. Stanford got within one point at 52-51 before Betley responded with a 3-pointer with 5:56 left to give Cal a little breathing room. The made basket seemed to inspire the Bears, who kept building their lead until it reached as much as 20 points with 12 seconds to go.
 
UP NEXT
With the win, Cal advances to play Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. The game tips off at 8:30 p.m. and will air on ESPN.
 
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