Category: NCAA

Final Pac-12 game in Berkeley ends with another epic Bears win 69-64

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Cal Bears Jaylon Tyson (20) goes for a layup against the Oregon Ducks at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (Cal Bears photo)

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Oregon Ducks 64 (18-9 Overall; 10-6 Pac-12)

California Golden Bears 69 (13-15 Overall; 9-8 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

BERKELEY–The Bears ended their home season with a bang, and came back to beat the Oregon Ducks, 69-64.

Following another comeback win by Cal against the Oregon State Beavers on Thursday, The Bears welcomed in the Oregon Ducks for the final home game of the season, and most likely the final Pac-12 game at Haas Pavilion.

The Ducks won the opening tip, and burst out of the gate early, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Jaylon Tyson hit a layup to put Cal on the board. Tyson hit a jumper, and Keonte Kenendy hit a three to put the Bears within one at 8-7.

This started a recurring theme throughout the first half. The Ducks would start to pad their lead, but the Bears came right back to tighten up.

The Ducks led 12-7, and the Bears closed it to 14-12. Jackson Shelstad hit all three from the line after being fouled trying to hit a three-ball to make it 17-12, and Tyson hit a three to make it 17-15.

The Ducks then got out to a 24-17 lead after a layup by Brennan Rigsby. Jalen Cone was then fouled, and hit both from the line to start an 8-1 drive for the Bears that saw them tie the game for the first time. Tyson was also fouled, and hit both from the line, and Fardaws Aimaq laid one in and jammed one down to tie it.

Oregon responded with six unanswered points. N’Faly Dante hit a layup, and Shelstad made a layup and a jumper to put the Ducks back ahead by six, 31-25. Jalen Celestine then of course hit a three and a layup to make it 31-30.

Jardian Tracey hit a three for the Ducks with 2:45 remaining to make it 34-30, but there would be no scoring the rest of the first half.

However, the first half ended pon a sour note for the Bears. Jaylon Tyson had to leave the game due to an injury that kept him rolling on the ground for several seconds. It took until the end of the next play on the other side of the court for the referees to call timeout, which angered the crowd, who repeatedly chanted “Refs, you suck!!!”

The theme of the Ducks pulling away but the Bears closing it up continued into the early minutes of the second half. A layup by Dante made it 39-34 Oregon, but Aimaq was fouled and hit two from the line, and Tyson, who had returned into the game, laid one in to make it 39-38.

Jermaine Couisnard and Rigsby hit threes to make it 44-38, but that was no problem for the Bears, especially Tyson and Jalen Cone. Tyson made a layup, and Cone hit a pair of threes to give Cal their first lead of the day. Tyson hit a jumper, and the Bears led it 48-44.

After two more layups by Tyson, the Bears led 56-48. However, the Ducks weren’t going to make it easy for the Bears. Cal maintained a steady lead, but a three from Tracey made it 60-57, and Couisnard made two from the line after getting fouled to make it a one-point game at 60-59 with 2:38 to go.

Cone hit a three; Couisnard hit one of two from the line after drawing a foul; and Aimaq laid it in, as the Bears led 65-60 with 52 seconds remaining. Tracey was fouled and hit two from the line, as was Tyson, who also hiit two from the line.

After a missed jumper by Couisnard and a missed three by Rigsby, Rigsby was fouled and made two from the line, but it would be far too late, and the Bears won it by a final of 69-64.

For the Bears, this is their third win in a row, and they are now over .500 in conference play, as they improve to 9-8. They also improve to 13-15 overall.

Jaylon Tyson had an incredible game. He suffered a scary-looking injury towards the end of the first half, but he returned early in the second half, and scored 27 points.

Most importantly, this was another big win for the Bears who have had quite a bounceback season following their 3-29 campaign. The Bears have also noticeably matured throughout the course of the season. This is a much more mature team than the team that barely eked out a win over the St. Thomas Tommies to open the season on Nov. 6.

The Bears suffered numerous painful losses early in the season, but they never gave up or gave in. They kept going, and matured into an exciting comeback team that gave the fans in Berkeley many epic comeback wins, as well as what we can actually say has been a special season.

Now, the Bears have three games remaining, all on the road. They will now head to Boulder, Colorado, where they will take on the Colorado Buffaloes Wednesday night. Tipoff will be at 5 p.m.

Bears do it again, and come back to beat Beavers 81-73

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Oregon State Beavers guard Dexter Akanno (4) attempts to take a shot but is guarded by the Cal Bears forward Fardaws Aimaq (00) in the second half at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Thu Feb 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Oregon State Beavers 73 (11-16 Overall; 3-13 Pac-12)

California Golden Bears 81 (12-15 Overall; 8-8 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears have done it again, as they came back from down 11 points to beat the Oregon State Beaver, 81-73.

The Bears returned home following another epic win, this time in Seattle against the Washington Huskies. Tonight, they kicked off their final home stand of the season, as they welcomed the Oregon State Beavers to Haas Pavilion.

The Beavers won the opening tip, and turned the ball over, which allowed Keonte Kennedy to put the Bears on the board with a jumper. Jordan Pope hit a three to put Oregon State ahead, and Chol Marial followed that up with a jumper to make it 5-2.

Fardaws Aimaq drew a, and hit both from the line to make it 5-4. Tyler Bilodeau hit a jumper for Oregon State; and then Aimaq was fouled, and hit one of two.

The Beavers then took control throughout the remainder of the first half. Pope hit a jumper, and then hit a free throw after being fouled on the play to open Oregon State’s lead to 21-10 with 11:47 still remaining.

The Bears didn’t fall any further behind, and closed the gap to 29-23 following a jumper by Jaylomn Tyson and a three by Kennedy. However, the Beavers retained control and were very quickly back out to a 34-23 lead.

The Bears kept up the fight, as an Aimaq three made it 38-31 with 2:53 left, and a Tyson three to make it 40-34 with 1:25 left. Dexter Akanno hit a three with 53 seconds left to make it 43-34, and that score would hold going into the half.

Marial drew a foul for the Beavers, and hit both from the line to start the second half, which put Oregon State back up by 11 at 45-34. The Bears were once again down double digits in the second half, and that only meant one thing: It was time for another comeback.

There the Bears went, as they chipped away at the Beavers’ lead with an 8-2 run. Jalen Cone hit a three; Aimaq was fouled, and hit two from the line; and Kennedy sank a three. Suddenly, it was 47-42.

Jordan Pope hit a jumper; was fouled on the play; and hit his shot from the line to make it 50-42, but the Bears didn’t let up, especially Jalen Celestine. Celestine was fouled, and hit two from the line. Then he stole the ball from Akanno on back-to-back Beavers’ possessions, and threw down dunks both times. Now, it was just a two-point game at 50-48 with 15:02 still remaining.

However, as quickly as the Bears got right back into it and made it a two-point game, the Beavers jumped back out to a nine-point lead just as quickly with seven unanswered points. That drive featured a three from Michael Rataj, a layup by KC Ibekwe and a jumper by Pope.

Cone hit a three, and Rataj responded with a jumper to make it 59-51. The Bears were down by eight with 11:51 to go, but that would be no problem at all. Grant Newell hit a three; Aimaq laid one in; and Cone hit a three, as it took the Bears just a minute and 38 seconds to come back and tie it.

The teams remained neck and neck, but a jumper by Pope, and a three by Tyler Bilodeau put the Beavers back up by five at 71-66 with 5:37 to go, but again, no problem for the Bears. Celestine hit a three; and Cone was fouled, and sent to the line, where he hit both shots to tie the game.

Celestine then hit a three to put the Bears ahead, 74-71, with 3:26 to go, and Cal took control from there. Cone hit a three to make it 77-71, and the Beavers’ offense was stymied the rest of the way. The final couple of minutes were fairly quiet, and the Bears won it, 81-73.

Just another comeback win for the Bears, who are back up to .500 in conference play at 8-8, and improve to 12-15 overall. Now, the Oregon Ducks will come into Haas Pavilion Saturday for the final home game of the season. Tipoff will be at 4 p.m.

Cardinal Allow Ducks to Fly Freely around Farm, 78-65, in Last Regular Season Conference Matchup

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The Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) gets a finger roll above the rim against the Oregon Ducks forward Mahamadou Diawara (24) in the first half at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Thu Feb 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (12-14, 7-9 Pac-12) were unable to contain the Oregon Ducks (18-8, 10-5 Pac-12), 78-65, in a late Thursday Night game inside Maples Pavilion.

Stanford senior forward Brandon Angel got the game started off with his team scoring the first points of the game from the charity stripe. He converted the two free throws, and managed to lead his team in scoring at the half (15), although they trailed by eight, 40-32.

Oregon made several runs in the first half, including a 5-0 one after Angel’s FTs, and a 10-0 one that put space between them and the Cardinal. Redshirt Junior guard Jadrian Tracey led all players (16) in scoring at recess.

Despite three lead changes and three ties, the Ducks were able to fly away to nearly a double digit advantage at the midway point of the contest.

Oregon opened the second half on a 5-0 run, putting the feathered visitors up by double-digits (13). That lead was further extended to a high of 17 points (60-43), with nearly 12 1/2 minutes left in the game, and again (74-57) nine minutes later.

Stanford’s noble attempts were combatted several times with daggers by the birds from the Beaver State. The Final margin after 40 minutes of play, was 13 points. 78-65, Oregon Ducks, despite being the underdog by the astute oddsmakers.

Stanford had two hoopers reach 10+ points. Angel dropped 21 points with 6 rebounds, and Spencer Jones had 14 points, in addition to 5 rebounds.

Oregon presented three players with double-figure tallies. Tracey finished with 20 points and 5 rebounds. Jackson Shelstad offered 19 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. N’Faly added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Stanford is next in action, Saturday, February 24, hosting the Oregon State Beavers at 2 PM PDT on P12NET. Oregon crosses the Bay to take on California, on the same date, but at 4 PM PDT also on the Pac-12 Network.

Bears steal one from Huskies for another late painful win 82-80

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Washington Huskies center Braxton Meah (34) forward Keion Brooks Jr (1), and guard Koren Johnson (0) battle against the Cal Bears guard Jaylon Tyson (20) and Fardaws Aimaq (far right back) at Alaskan Airlines Arena in Seattle on Sat Feb 17, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024

Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Washington

California Golden Bears 82 (11-15 Overall; 7-8 Pac-12)

Washington Huskies 80 (14-12 Overall; 6-9 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears came into Seattle, and beat the Washington Huskies, 82-80, thanks to a late steal and three.

Cal came in having lost their last two. They had lost a devastating nailbiter to the Oregon Ducks in Berkeley last Saturday, and then were rather easily defeated by the Washington State Cougars in Pullman on Thursday. Now, they were in Seattle to play a Washington Huskies team, who beat the Bears in a close one at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 18.

The Huskies won the opening tip, but there wouldn’t be any scoring for a minute and a half. That was when Fardaws Aimaq got Cal on the board with a hookshot. Aimaq and Jaylon Tyson combined to score the Bears’ first 13 points

The game was neck and neck in the early going with Cal up 13-11. Koren Johnson and Keion Brooks Jr. then combined to score seven unanswered points for the Huskies to put them up 18-13.

The Huskies held the lead until Jalen Cone laid one in with 7:20 remaining to tie it at 23-23. Tyson laid one in to give Cal a 25-23 lead, and the Bears took the momentum, as they opened a 40-33 lead with two minutes to go.

The Huskies bounced back, and they clawed their way back in to go into the half down four at 42-38.

Brooks hit a jump shot for the Huskies to make it 42-40 to start the second half, and Cone hit a three to make it 45-40, as the two teams see-sawed their way through the early minutes. Paul Mulcahy hit a three to give the Huskies a 47-46 lead, and then Tyson alley-ooped to Keonte Kennedy, who slammed it down to put the Bears back ahead, 48-47.

Koren Johnson hit a layup to make it 49-48 Washington, and the Huskies mostly took control from there. Cal did comeback to tie it on a free throw by Aimaq to make it 53-53, but the Huskies just as quickly retook the lead, and opened up a 61-55 lead with 10:44 to go.

However, the Bears were not going to let the Huskies pull away with it. Aimaq and Tyson hit layups to make it 61-59, and the Bears were now just down by two. The Bears hung in there, as they twice tied the game, but they were unable to get a lead.

Mulcahy was fouled and hit one of two from the line to put Washington up 75-70 with 4:23 to go. Grant Newell then hit a pair of layups to make it 75-74, and the Bears were headed for another thrilling finish in this painful season.

The Huskies kept their small lead, but Jalen Celestine sank a three with 1:40 remaining to tie it at 79-79. Sahvir Wheeler was then fouled, and he hit one of two from the line to put the Huskies back up, 80-79 with 1:16 to go.

The 80-79 Huskies’ lead held up going into the final seconds. With 15 seconds remaining, Jalen Cone stole the ball from Wheeler, and then called time. The Bears inbounded the ball, and got it to Jalen Celestine, who sank a three-ball with five seconds left to give the Bears an 82-80 lead.

Wheeler then tried to lay one in, but he missed, and the Bears came out with another painful win, as they somehow managed to win this one, 82-80.

In the midst of tonight’s epic win was Jaylon Tyson’s 28-point performance. It comes as no surprise that Tyson’s performance was not the main highlight, as tonight’s win was a team effort, just as most of the wins have been for the Bears this season.

The Bears improve to 7-8 in Pac-12 play, and 11-15 overall. Now, they will return home for their final home stand of the year. First, the Oregon State Beavers will come in for a 7 p.m. tip at Haas Pavilion on Thursday night, followed by the Oregon Ducks, who will be in for a 4 p.m. next Saturday.

Cougars use big second half to upend Cardinal 72-59

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The Stanford Cardinal forward Brandon Angel (23) is in pursuit of the Washington State Cougars forward Andrej Jakimmovski (23) at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman on Sat, Feb 17, 2024 (Washington State Cougars photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Washington State used a balanced attack and a big second half Saturday, as the Cougars routed Stanford 72-59 in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash.

Jaylen Wells and Isaac Jones scored 15 points apiece to lead WSU (20-6 overall, 7-8 Pac-12). Myles Rice was next with 14 points and Andrej Jakimovski finished with 13 points. Oscar Cluff had three steals and pulled down 12 of the Cougars’ 37 rebounds and Rice collected five assists.

Brandon Angel led the Cardinal (12-13 overall, 7-8 Pac-12) with 15 points, hitting 6 of 9 field goal attempts. Kanaan Carlyle and Michael Jones were next with 12 points each. Carlyle dished out five assists, 6 hit two 3-pointers, and Maxime Raynaud grabbed five rebounds.

Stanford trailed 21-11 with 9:56 remaining in the first half, but rallied with a 23-12 run to take a 34-33 lead. Benny Gealer scored in the last seconds of the half giving the Cardinal a 36-35 lead at the break.

The Cardinal enjoyed their biggest lead, 47-42, with 15:32 to play. Washington State reeled off a 21-6 run to assume control of the contest. The Cougars outscored Stanford 37-23 in the second half.

Stanford returns home to Maples Pavilion this Thursday, hosting Oregon at 8 p.m.

San Jose State Loses To Wyoming 80-75

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San Jose State Spartans guard Latrell Davis takes a jump shot against the Wyoming Cowboys at the Provident Credit Event Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 17, 2024 (San Jose Spartans photo image)

Saturday, February 17th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The Wyoming Cowboys come to the Golden State for a matchup with the San Jose State Spartans in the Provident Credit Union Event Center. For Wyoming it’s the first of a two-game road trip. In these two teams’ first meeting of the season and the first conference game for the Spartans, SJSU lost at the buzzer, despite leading for most of the contest.

Wyoming heads into this game with a 12-12 record and a 5-6 conference record, while the Spartans are 9-16 with a 2-10 conference record. San Jose State comes into this game shooting 45.7% from the field and 35.2% from behind the arc and after a win against Air Force last game, SJSU looks to keep the fire burning against the Cowboys. The Spartans just couldn’t hold their own dropping the contest to the Cowboys 80-75 on Saturday night.

The first half was primarily dominated by Wyoming as three pointers were falling for the Cowboys. Wyoming hit 9-18, going 50% from behind the arc keeping a wide distance between them and the Spartans.

Wyoming’s guard Sam Griffin led the Cowboys in the first half in points (11), rebounds (4), and assists (3), while MJ Amey Jr. led the Spartans in points with eight. At halftime Wyoming had a clear cut lead 43-29 and if the Spartans needed to get any type of momentum to win this game, shots needed to fall both in the paint and behind the arc. 

SJSU started the second half generating a comeback, but it was halted when they went on a three minute scoring drought. Akuel Kot of Wyoming dropped 20 points before going to the bench with what appears to be an ankle injury.

The game went within five points for San Jose State  with five minutes left after Latrell Davis got a basket by goaltending. The game got closer and closer for the Spartans all the way to a one point game, but Wyoming pulled away and ended up winning the game 80-75. 

The Spartans lose another conference game making their record in the Mountain West record 2-11. San Jose State’s next game will be in Boise, Idaho against Boise State on February 20th.

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson: Cougars take out Cardinal 72-59; Wells and Jones leads WSU in scoring

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The Stanford Cardinal forward Isaac Jones was tied for first in scoring on Sat Feb 17, 2024 against the Washington State Cougars at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman (Stanford Cardinal file photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal (12-13) lost their fourth out of their last six games today in Pullman against the Washington State Cougars (20-6) 72-59.

#2 The Cougars had two players tied for scoring at 15 points Jaylen Wells and Isaac Jones. The Cougars have relied on Jones and Wells for the bulk of their scoring and wins.

#3 The Cardinal high scorers forward Brandon Angel with 15 points and tied for second in scoring guards Kanaan Carlyle and Michael Jones both with 12 points.

#4 Michael, how surprised were you that the Cougars were able to hold the Cardinal’s guard Maxime Raynaud to just eight points. How crucial was that for the Cougars as Raynaud has had some lights out games this season?

#5 The Cardinal host the Oregon Ducks (16-8) Thu Feb 22nd at Maples Pavilion. The Ducks have been playing just below .500 in their last seven games, they are fourth in the Pac 12 and have lost four of their last seven games.

Michael Roberson is a Stanford Cardinal beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Bears show fight but trounced by Cougars up North in Pullman 85-65

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The Washington State Cougars forward Isaac Jones (13) puts up a prayer with the Cal Bears forward Fardaws Aimaq (00) putting on the pressure in the second half at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman on Thu Feb 15, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024

Beasley Coliseum, Pullman, Washington

California Golden Bears 65 (10-15 Overall; 6-8 Pac-12)

Washington State Cougars 85 (19-6 Overall; 10-4 Pac-12)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears went up north to Pullman, Washington, and though they put up some fight, they were subdued, as they lost to the Washington State Cougars, 84-65, in the opener of the road trip.

Cal lost a tough one Saturday at home against the UCLA Bruins. The Bears came back from down 14 points to take the lead, but eventually fell in overtime. Tonight, they were going to have to bounce back on the road, and on the turf of the powerful Washington State Cougars.

The game started scoreless for a whole minute and 49 seconds until Jaylon Tyson made a pullup jumper. The Cougars then scored 10 unanswered points to pounce out to an early 10-2 lead.

The Bears then scored eight unanswered points. Rodney Brown Jr. hit a three; Tyson hit a driving layup; and Grant Newell sank a three-ball to tie it at 10-10 with 11:28 to go in the first half.

The game remained tight as the first half went along. Jaylen Wells hit a three to put the Cougars back ahead at 13-10. From there, the Cougars kept the small lead for the next several minutes, but the Bears were able to stay closely behind.

Fardaws Aimaq was fouled and hit two from the line to put Cal within three at 22-19 with 4:22 to go. However, Andrej Jakimovski hit a three, and Myles Rice laid one in to open Washington State’s lead to 27-19.

Jalen Celestine hit a three to make it 27-22 with 2:48 left, but the Cougars closed out the first half with seven unanswered points, and altogether a 12-3 run, to go into the half uo 34-22.

Aimaq slammed one down to start the second half, but the Cougars kept adding. Wells hit a jumper, and Rice hit a three to make it 41-26.

Being down by double digits in the early minutes of the second half was nothing new to the Bears, who have come back from many such deficits this season. There was no reason to believe they couldn’t do so tonight.

The Bears had already come back from a large deficit early in this game. When the Cougars jumped out their 10-2 lead out of the gate, the Bears immediately scored eight unanswered points to tie it up. The Bears had all the confidence in the world that they could come back again.

Keonte Kennedy hit a three, and Tyson dunked one to make it 41-31. The Bears definitely believed they could come back, but the Cougars just would not relent, as they jumped out to a 51-33 lead with 15:17 to go. Brown and Newell then hit threes to make it 53-39, but the Cougars were too powerful, and they put the game away.

The Cougars opened their lead to 20 at 66-46 with 9:51 to go, and it was apparent that the Bears were not going to come back tonight. To Cal’s credit, they didn’t fall much further behind, as they never trailed by more than 23 points.

However, once all was said and done, Washington State comfortably won, 84-65.

Tyson led the scoring with 18 points for the Bears, but there was no stopping Myles Rice, who scored 25 for the Cougars. Isaac Jones wasn’t too far behind Rice, as he scored 21.

The Bears fall to 6-8 in Pac-12 play, and 10-15 overall. Now, they will head across Washington State to Seattle, where they will take on the Washington Huskies at 5:30 p.m. Saturday night.

Huskies rout Cardinal 85-65 in Pac-12 hoops

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Stanford Cardinal conferenced but just couldn’t figure out how to stop the Washington Huskies offense at Alaskan Airlines Arena in Seattle on Thu Feb 15, 2024 (Stanford Cardinal image)

By Daniel Dullum

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Stanford opened its penultimate Pac-12 men’s basketball road trip Thursday with an 85-65 defeat by Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

Washington (14-11 overall, 6-8 Pac-12) was led by Deion Brooks Jr. with 30 points on 8 of 14 field goal shooting, and Koren Johnson with another 30 points off the bench, including six 3-pointers. Shaver Wheeler was next for the Huskies with 14 points, eight assists and two steals. Braxton Meah had 13 rebounds.

Maxime Raynaud and Brandon Angel were the Cardinal scoring leaders with 19 points each. Raynaud also had a game-high 16 rebounds to go with two steals. Angel was 7 of 7 at the free throw line, and Raynaud’s double-double was his 10th of the season, Andrej Stojakovic added 10 points off the bench.

There were 13 lead changes and seven ties throughout most of the first half. Raynaud scored 11 of the Cardinal’s first 17 points, and scored seven points in a 10-0 Stanford run that put the visitors up 16-8.

The Huskies responded with an 8-point run and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 40-38 halftime lead.

Washington opened the second half with a 12-0 run, and while the Cardinal (12-12 overall, 7-7 Pac-12) cut their deficit to single digits with 11:14 left on a Stojskovic 3-pointer, the Huskies methodically pulled away.

The Cardinal resume their Northwest road swing on Saturday, when they visit Washington State. Game time is 3 p.m.

Cardinal Bombarded the Men of Troy, 99-68; Many of the Capacity Crowd’s Eyes on the Farm were on Prince James

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The Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (left) who led with 25 points and 19 3’s celebrates a win over the USC Trojans with head coach Jerod Haase (right) at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Sat Feb 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — A school record 19 threes helped propel the Stanford Cardinal (12-11, 7-6 Pac-12) to a 99-68 blowout win over the University of Southern California Trojans (9-15, 3-10 Pac-12) in front of a sold out (7,563) Maples Pavilion crowd.

An electric atmosphere surrounding the Northern/Southern rivalry between the two California conference rivals, was also exacerbated by the son (Bronny) of the NBA All-Time Leading scorer, Lebron James, making his first and only appearance at Stanford. The full house was cheering and booing Bronny James, in the same polarizing scenario his father has been through during his storied career. The jeers were apparently directed at James Sr. vicariously through his son.

James Jr. had an unimpressive 6 points and 3 assists, without his father being in the Palo Alto crowd. However, when the Trojans played Cal last Wednesday, King James was inside Haas Pavilion, to witness his son’s team lose an overtime battle to the Golden Bears.

Cal actually started the game off with a 4-0 lead. Unfortunately for them, that was the last lead they would possess in the game Bronny bounced a dime assist to put the Trojans on the scoreboard first, and later hit a three and got an exciting breakaway dunk, stuntin like his daddy. Other than that, it was all Stanford with the excitement and thrills.

The Cardinal stroked a school record 12 treys in the first half. They also had three players in double-figures after 20 minutes of play. Maxime Raynaud (15), 2 threes, Andrej Stojakovic (14), 4 threes, and Benny Gealer (11), 3 threes. The Trojans had 0 players with 10+ points.

After the early 4-point deficit, Stanford went on a 25-0 run and led by as much as 31 points before recess. USC was scoreless for nearly 7 1/2 minutes and approximately 9 minutes without a made FG. At halftime, the Cardinal led by 29 points, 55-26.

In the second half, the onslaught continued, as the team added seven more 3-pointers to their record tabulations. Their lead reached a margin of 33 points, and they managed to maintain that advantage – minus two points – at the final whistle, 99-68.

During the second 20-minute block two Cardinal players recorded career highs in scoring: Freshman Andrej Stojakovic (20) and sophomore Benny Gealer (14). Maxime Raynaud was almost perfect from the field (10-11) and contributed 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2-2 from threeland. Spencer Jones had 15 points on 5 made threes, and Kanaan Carlyle added 10 points, 4 assists and 2 blocks.

The Trojans only had a single soul reach double-digits, and it was not Bronny James. Freshman Isaiah Collier posted 18 points for his USC squad, but that was not nearly enough for the offensive barrage of their NorCal opponent.

After the impressive 31-point beatdown, the Cardinal will next be in action in the Great Northwest, as they will battle the Washington Huskies, Thursday, February 15, at 6 PM PDT on ESPN2. The Trojans will head to the Beehive State on the same date to take on the Utah Utes at 8 PM MST .