Cal Bears guard Jalen Celestine (32) and Grant Newell forward (14) are stoked against the Stanford Cardinal at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Fri Jan 26, 2024 (photo by Cal Bears MBB)

Friday, Jan. 26, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Stanford Cardinal 71 (10-9 Overall; 5-4 Pac-12)

California Golden Bears 73 (8-12 Overall; 4-5 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears once again took another seesaw thriller down to the wire, as they defeated their hated rivals, the Stanford Cardinal, 73-71 at a packed and gold-out Haas Pavilion, which is now referred to by Bears Head Coach Mark Madsen as the ‘House of Pain.’

The Bears were back at it after nearly a week off, following their incredible win over the Washington State Cougars Saturday. Tonight, they welcomed Stanford in, as the Bears and their fans would be in for yet another wild night of basketball.

Stanford won the opening tip, and Spencer Jones drew a foul from Jaylon Tyson, which sent Spencer to the line, where he made one of two. Kanaan Carlyle made a jumper to make it 3-0 Stanford.

Cal got on the board when the roles between Tyson and Jones were reversed. Jones fouled Tyson, and Tyson hit one of two from the line. Keonte Kennedy then hit a three-ball to give the Bears their first lead of the night.

The Cardinal responded with a 9-0 run. Spencer Jones scored seven of the nine points in that drive, and Michael Jones hit a jumper for the other two, as Stanford jumped out to a 12-4 lead. Tyson, Gus Larson and Grant Newell all hit layups to make it a 16-13 game. 

The Cardinal would start to pull away a bit, but the Bears kept it close. Jalen Cone hit a pair of free throws to put the Bears within two at 25-23 with exactly seven minutes remaining in the first half. Michael Jones then hit a pair of three-balls, and the Cardinal jumped back out to a 31-23 lead. 

The Cardinal led 33-25, but the Bears came back to tie it with a 9-1 run. Jaylon Tyson laid one in; Fardaws Aimaq hit a pair of shots; and Keonte Kennedy hit a three. It was 34-34 with 1:45 remaining.

The Cardinal regained a little bit of momentum to close out the first half. Jared Bynum hit a three to put Stanford back ahead, 37-34, and Jalen Cone hit two from the line after drawing a foul. Kanaan Carlyle hit a jump shot, and hit one from the line after being fouled on the play.

After neither team scored in the final 44 seconds, Stanford went into the half up 40-36.

The second half got underway with no scoring for the first minute and 27 seconds. Brandon Angel hit a three for Stanford, who took control of the game. Maxime Raynaud laid one in, and Spencer Jones hit a three to open up a 48-38 lead for Stanford.

It was 50-40, and what do you know, the Bears scored ten unanswered points in an all-around team effort to tie it again. Newell, Kennedy, Tyson and Cone all scored, and it was 50-50 with 12:43 remaining. 

Stanford took charge once again. Andrej Stojakovic—the son of former NBA forward, Peja Stojakovic—got the drive started with a pair of layups. Jared Bynum hit a three, and the Cardinal were back out to a 57-50 lead.

It was 60-53 Cardinal with 9:19 to go, and the Bears of course had another comeback left in them. Jalen Celestine laid one in; drew the foul; and hit his shot from the line to make it 60-56. Celestine made another layup, and Jalen Cone hit two from the line to tie it at 60-60.

Fardaws Aimaq then hit a pair of jumpers to give the Bears a 64-60 lead, their first lead since the early minutes of the first half.

6:14 remained, and we would be in for yet another epic finish at the House of Pain. Maxime Raynaud and Spencer Jones both drew fouls, and both hit each of their two shots from the line to tie it at 64-64. Brandon Angel was then fouled, and he hit both of his shots at the line to put Stanford back ahead, 66-64.

4:30 remained, and there was no scoring for another 55 seconds until Grant Newell laid one in to tie it at 66-66. Carlyle hit a jumper to put Stanford back ahead, but Aimaq was fouled and hit both free throws to make it 68-68.

Celestine hit a jumper to put the Bears back ahead at 70-68 with 2:16 to go. Raynaud was fouled, and hit one of two from the line; and Brandon Angel was fouled, and made both shots from the line to give the Cardinal a 71-70 lead with 1:10 to go.

As the game entered its final minute, Celestine was fouled, and hit his two from the line to put the Bears back ahead, 72-71. Carlyle missed a layup for Stanford, and Cone missed a three for Cal.

It was still 72-71 Bears with just 10 seconds left, and that’s when Raynaud turned the ball over. The Cardinal had no choice, but to foul Celestine, who hit one of two from the line to make it 73-71. 

Stanford got the ball up court in the final seconds, but after a missed layup by Carlyle, and a missed jumper by Raynaud, the Bears had won another thriller.

Blown leads, epic comebacks and wild out-of-control seesaw games have been the theme for Cal all season long, and tonight was no different. Stanford appeared to take control of the game on several occasions, but each time, the Bears came back. and were able to eventually hold on at the end.

The Bears improve to 8-12 on the season, and 4-5 in Pac-12 play. They will now head to the great state of Arizona for a quick two-game road trip. It will start Thursday night at 5:30 p.m., against the ninth-ranked Arizona Wildcats at the McKale Center in Tucson. The Bears will follow that up with a noon affair against the Arizona State Sun Devils next Saturday in Tempe.