Men’s Hoops Drops Defensive Battle

BERKELEY, Calif. – In a low-scoring contest on Saturday evening at Haas Pavilion, Stanford men's basketball fell to California, 53-39.

Spencer Jones led the Cardinal with 10 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the foul line, while Jaiden Delaire scored seven points and Harrison Ingram six. Nine different players scored for Stanford on the evening.

After limiting Cal to a season-low 50 points in the last meeting on Feb. 1, the Cardinal held Cal to 53 points on Saturday, which is the Bears' third-lowest of the season. Cal's 18 points in the second half is Stanford's lowest scoring defensive half of the season.

The Bears got out to an early lead as Stanford missed 16 of its first 17 attempts from the field. Jordan Shepard led the home team with 28 points.

Stanford cut the deficit to 14 after trailing by 23 at the intermission, but ran out of time in a low possession contest. Per KenPom the 56 possessions in the contest were the lowest in any Stanford game this season.

The Cardinal finishes the regular season on the road at No. 2/2 Arizona and Arizona State March 3 and 5, respectively.