Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Stanford Cardinal tipped off against the Cal Bears Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. The Bears have been struggling all season long and the Cardinal entered the game with a mediocre record of 10-10. As followers of both schools know, records do not count when the two teams meet in any type of athletic competition. The Bears, 0-8 in Pac-12 play, wanted desperately to beat the Cardinal. Conversely, The Cardinal did not want to be the first Pac-12 team to be beaten by the Bears.

The teams went at it tooth and nail in the first 20 minutes of action. The lead changed hands several times and the game was tied at least three times in the first half. The Bears led 29-24 when Justice Sueing made a bucket and was fouled on the play. He then made the free throw. The Cardinal’s Cormac Ryan hit a three and Lukas Kisunas followed with his first basket of the night to tie the score at 29. The teams tied again at 31 and 35 each. Cal’s Matt Bradley knocked down a three to make it 38-35. Stanford made a basket and the first half finished with the Bears ahead 38-37. Okpala led the Cardinal with 11 points. Oscar da Silva and Daejon Davis each had 5. Sueing led the Bears with 10. Big Connor Vanover, who is 7 feet 3 inches tall contributed 8. Paris Austin had 6.

It was more of the same in the second half. Neither team would give an inch. If one team went on a small run, the other team fought back to either tie the game or take the lead. Stanford led early, but Cal came back to tie. The Bears tied at 58. The Bears led 66-51 but Stanford kept coming back and the Cardinal, led by KZ Okapala’s 30 points, was able to hold off the Bears as the won 84-81.

Here’s how the game ended. he Bears’ Matt Bradley drove the baseline for an apparent tying bucket. The Cardinal’s big Josh Sharma appeared to have fouled Bradley on the play. After a review, the call was reversed and the ball given to the Cardinal. Had Bradley been awarded the free throws, he could have tied the game. The Cardinal had the ball and ran out the clock to win the game 84-81.

Game Notes: The loss was the Bears tenth in a row and matches the longest streak in school history. The Bears are 5-16 for the season and 0-9 in the Pac-12. The Cardinal’s record is now 11-10 and they are 4-5 in the Pac-12.

Okpala had a career-high of 30 points to lead Stanford. Bryce Wills had 16, Daejon Davis 14, Oscar Da Silva 7 Cormac Ryan, 7. Justice Sueing paced the Bears with 23. Paris Austin had 15, Matt Bradley 13, and Connor Vanover 15.

While this is the third year in a row that the Cardinal is having a so-so season, there is a reason to have hope that the future will be brighter for Stanford as 11 of the 15 players on the squad are either freshman or sophomores. That should bode well for Cardinal coach Jerrod Haase.

Up Next: The Cardinal return to action Thursday night when they face the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis, Ore.