Stanford escapes 18-point hole, stuns Cal in OT

Field Level Media|published: Thu 14th March, 24:02 2024

Mar 13, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Kanaan Carlyle (3) shoots the ball against California Golden Bears forward Fardaws Aimaq (00) in the first half at T-Mobile Arena. credits: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS — Stanford overcame an 18-point deficit in the second half to force overtime and beat Cal 87-76 on Wednesday night in an opening-round game of the Pac-12 tournament.

The 10th-seeded Cardinal (14-17) will play second-seeded Washington State (23-8) in a quarterfinal game on Thursday. The Cougars are ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25.

Stanford made its first three shots from the field in overtime, 3-pointers by Spencer Jones and Brandon Angel and then a Maxime Raynaud hoop that resulted in a three-point play, to pull away to a 78-71 lead with 2:18 remaining.

The Cardinal scored eight unanswered points to extend the lead to 87-74 with 18 seconds left.

Cal (13-19) squandered its the large second-half advantage by going through a 1-for-15 stretch from field.

Jalen Cone snapped a streak of 10 missed field-goal attempts with a 3-pointer with 1:52 left in regulation to give Cal a 68-63 lead.

After Angel made a layup with 1:01 remaining, Cone made one of two free throws with 32 seconds left to give the Golden Bears a 69-65 lead.

Spencer Jones sank 1 of 2 free throws with 26 seconds to go before Cal's Keonte Kennedy turned the ball over. Michael Jones made a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining to tie the game at 69.

Kennedy again turned the ball over on the inbound pass, and Stanford called a timeout with 16 seconds left.

A drive to the hoop by Spencer Jones ended with a missed attempt with three seconds left.

A midcourt heave from Cal's Jaylon Tyson was off the mark.

Stanford was led by Raynaud's 21 points and 13 rebounds. Spencer Jones contributed 20 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Angel had 16 points and eight rebounds.

Cone topped the Golden Bears with 19 points and added five assists. Tyson had 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Jalen Celestine finished with 14 points.

Cal took its biggest lead of the game, 63-45, with 14:36 left when Celestine made a 3-pointer.

Stanford responded with an 18-2 run to climb within 65-63 with 3:45 left.

During that stretch, Spencer Jones made 1 of 2 free throws with 4:27 left after drawing the fifth foul from Fardaws Aimaq. The Cal post player finished with eight points and nine rebounds.

—Javier Morales, Field Level Media

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