Stanford Cardinal game wrap: Cardinal return to win column with 57-50 victory over Cal

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Stanford Cardinal bench is excited with the results against the Cal Bears at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Tue Feb 1, 2022 (photo by Stanford Cardinal Athletics)

By Daniel Dullum
Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Stanford returned to the win column in Pac-12 men’s basketball Tuesday at Maples Pavilion with a 57-50 rivalry win over California.

Jaiden Delaire and Harrison Ingram paced the Cardinal’s balanced attack with 12 points each, and Spencer Jones and Michael O’Connell had nine points apiece, as Stanford held the Golden Bears to their lowest offensive output in the series since February of 2000. O’Connell also had three assists.

James Keefe pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds as the Cardinal (13-7 overall, 6-4 Pac-12) outrebounded Cal 35-28. The Bears (9-13, 2-9) were forced into nine turnovers.

While both teams struggled offensively, Stanford made shots when they needed to. An Ingram jump shot with 34 seconds remaining in the first half put the Cardinal ahead for good. In the second half, Stanford enjoyed a 6-0 run, capped by Brandon Angel’s 3-pointer with 11:23 remaining in the second half, giving the Cardinal 35-29 lead.

Cal responded with its own 6-2 run, but got no closer than 37-35.

The Cardinal made 21 of 50 field goal attempts (42 percent) while making only 3 of 15 3-point attempts. Stanford held Cal to 35 percent from the floor.

Stanford hosts Washington State on Thursday and Washington on Saturday.

High-Minded Hoopfest on the Hardwood: Stanford outslugs Cal, 57-50

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By Morris Phillips

STANFORD, CA–Determined to avoid a bad loss, Stanford got an ugly win.

The Golden Bears got what was left–and not what they were looking for–a seventh, consecutive loss.

That’s what you get on a rare Tuesday in the Pac-12: succinct conclusions, ragged hoops and gutty performances. Throw in Cal’s signature deliberate pace, and this one was hardly memorable, but it was hard fought. The compressed schedule that has Cal (2-9, 9-13) playing five times in 10 days, along with Tuesday’s physical play clearly impacted them in a second half that was controlled by the hosts.

“I do think that we wore down a little bit in the second half,” coach Mark Fox said. “Certainly we missed Andre on the offensive end, but defensively we gave ourselves a chance.”

Powered by a 9-0 run early, Cal led for much of the first half. But the Cardinal’s defense and rebounding eventually became the story. Cal trailed by just one point at the break despite shooting 32 percent from the floor. Better shooting in the second half (38 percent) didn’t propel the Bears, instead they fell victim to Stanford’s insistence on getting the ball to the rim. Cal’s attempts to rally failed as they missed eight of nine 3-point attempts after halftime.

“We talked a lot about pace during halftime and just getting the ball moving, getting downhill off screens,” Stanford’s James Keefe said when asked what changed after the break. “But, I think coach gave us a good plan and we got it going from there. So, I guess you could say stagnant.”

Jaden Delaire and freshman Harrison Ingram led Stanford with 12 points a piece. Spencer Jones and Michael O’Connell each had nine points, and fifth starter Keefe best “embraced the grind” as described by coach Jerod Haase. Keefe finished with eight points and 11 rebounds, and a bunch of hustle plays in an uneven first half that could have saw the Cardinal fall into a hole.

Andre Kelly was absent for the Bears, as a result of his leg injury suffered on Saturday at USC. Lars Thiemann responded with the lengthiest and most impressive outing of his career with 11 points, six rebounds in 32 minutes.

“Lars really did an admirable job,” Fox said. “I was surprised he could go 30 minutes. He’s been our leading scorer and rebounder in practice all year. He just needs confidence to let the game slow down, and that’ll help him get better.”

Jordan Shepherd led Cal with 15 points, but missed 12 of his 17 shots from the floor. Grant Anticevich was reinstated to the starting lineup, but his seven points, seven rebounds weren’t impactful enough, especially in Kelly’s absence.

Washington visits Cal on Thursday, the Bears next opportunity to end a losing streak that has them currently 10th in the conference race ahead of one-win clubs, Oregon State and Utah.

Super Bowl LVI podcast with David Zizmor: Battle of quarterbacks Stafford and Burrow get ready to slog it out in the Southland

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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (left) and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matt Stafford (right) preparing to battle it out for Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sun Feb 13, 2022 (image by MARCA)

On the Super Bowl LVI podcast with David Zizmor:

#1 David, taking a look at Cincinnati Bengals (13-7) quarterback Joe Burrow he’s had some miracle games and Burrow has led the Bengals to winning six out of their last seven games. The Bengals are underdogs in this Super Bowl but Burrow has beaten the odds throughout those six wins to get here.

#2 Dave, talk about the Los Angeles Rams (15-5) quarterback Matt Stafford has led the Rams to winning eight of their last nine games and led the Rams in that miracle comeback game against the San Francisco 49ers (12-8) last Sunday in the NFC Championship in LA at SoFi Stadium. Stafford has certainly come a long ways from his struggling days with the Detroit Lions to getting to the Super Bowl with

#3 Dave, talk about the advantage the Rams have here they are the first team in Super Bowl history to host the Super Bowl in their own stadium the closest any other football team to do it was in 1985 when the San Francisco 49ers played at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto against the Bengals. With the Rams in their own stadium how big of a difference does this make?

Join David for the Super Bowl LVI podcasts Wednesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Unlikely Win For Warriors In A Brilliant Finish Golden State-124 San Antonio 120

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, celebrates a score with teammate guard Jordan Poole (3) against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Tue Feb 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

Unlikely Win For Warriors In A Brilliant Finish Golden State-124 San Antonio 120

By Barbara Mason

Following a tough win on Monday night against the Houston Rockets the Warriors (39-13) took on the San Antonio Spurs (19-33) Tuesday night. Both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson would be sidelined for this game.

Dejounte Murray leads San Antonio averaging 19.4 points and 9 assists per game. The Warriors were short-handed in this game. Nemanja Bjelica (back), Curry (toe), Andre Iguodala (hip), Otto Porter Jr. (foot) and Andrew Wiggins (knee) all expected to be out.

San Antonio will no doubt be looking to take advantage of a depleted Warrior team. The Spurs have the lowest turnover rate in the league and they also have the most bench points per game. In the Warriors favor San Antonio allows the third-most second chance points in the league.

The starters for Golden State in this game were Juan Toscano-Anderson, Kevon Looney, Damien Lee, Jordan Poole and Moses Moody. The Warriors will be looking for some assistance from Jonathan Kuminga, Chris Chiozza and Gary Payton !! off the bench.

The Spurs led after one quarter 30-36. The Warriors continued to hang around although empty possessions were hurting Golden State in the second quarter. They trailed by ten points in the quarter but kept chipping away at the Spurs lead trailing by four points late in the second quarter.

San Antonio was having an excellent game through the first 24 minutes and the Warriors were happy with an eight point deficit at the half 69-61. Looney already had ten rebounds with a great defensive showing and Moses Moody had 14 points, a career high for him.

Three minutes into the third quarter the Warriors were within one point of the Spurs 73-72 but could not take the lead. While the Warriors were having a good shooting night, the Spurs were having an even better shooting game. San Antonio led after three 104-89.

After trailing by seventeen points the Warriors had shaved the Spurs lead to two points. Kuminga and Chiozza were largely responsible for the turnaround. With two and a half minutes left in the game the score was knotted at 114. Damien Lee made a shot from downtown to giver the Warriors the lead 117-114 and they never looked back.

In a most unlikely win the Golden State Warriors roared from behind to take the fourth quarter 35-16 and win this game 124-120. “I feel comfortable shooting the ball from anywhere,” said Poole after the game. He had a clutch shot from downtown in the closing seconds of the game to secure the win.

Damien Lee finished off San Antonio with two free throws to end the game. All the young players had a great game tonight. Poole finished with 31, Lee with 21 and Moody with 20. Kuminga was great off the bench with 19 points. Everyone on the floor tonight was a huge part of this win.

This team continues to amaze and beat all odds. They will head home for a game with the Sacramento Kings Thursday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Sharks Fall to Lightning 3-2 in OT

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San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer (47) watches a shot get by him as Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Alex Killorn for a goal during the second period at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Wed Feb 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The Sharks fell 3-2 in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point and Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves for the win. Rudolfs Balcers and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks. James Reimer, making his fourth start in a row, stopped 29 shots in the loss.

The Sharks defense saw the return of both Mario Ferraro and Jake Middleton. Ferraro, wearing a full face shield, skated 27:21 minutes. He had one shot, five blocked shots, and two hits. Jacob Middleton skated 15:33 and had four hits. Of Ferarro’s return, teammate Brent Burns said: “To step back in and battle through, that’s Mario, he’s just been… he’s that kind of guy all year. That’s the stuff that… it’s huge for teams.”

Sharks captain Logan Couture said:

“What a warrior, man. I was pretty shocked when I got to the rink today and he was getting that visor put on his helmet. I thought he was nuts but he wants to play, he wants to play for the guys in the room and those are leaders. Those are guys that they’ll do anything to help their teammates out in a tough spot. And a lot of respect to Mario.”

A scoreless first period saw each team’s power play go to work, with the penalty kills prevailing. Each power play finished with two shots on goal. The Lightning outshot the Sharks slightly, 9-7. The Sharks had a similarly slim edge in the face-off circle, winning 8 of 15 draws.

Anthony Cirelli broke the ice with a goal at 1:32 of the second period. Cirelli brought the puck into the zone right down the slot before making a quick pass to Brayden Point on his right. Point drew Reimer out of position with a faked shot and then passed it back to Cirelli who was still on his way to the net. Cirelli had an open net to shoot at for his 13th of the season. Assists went to Point and Ryan McDonagh.

Rudolfs Balcers tied it up at 4:50 with his sixth of the season, and the Sharks’ first shot of the period. Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a shot from the point and Balcers redirected it in. Assists went to Vlasic and Logan Couture.

Tampa Bay took the lead again at 18:08 with a power play goal. With a two-man advantage, Steven Stamkos took a shot that bounced into the air. Killorn gloved it down to his stick for the shot. Assists went to Stamkos and Victor Hedman.

The Lightning finished the second period on a power play, but as soon as that expired at the start of the third, Steven Stamkos was called for tripping and the Sharks went on the power play.

Logan Couture tied the game during the first minute of that power play, 1:12 into the period. From the point, Brent Burns sent the puck to Couture for a redirection. Couture was in the slot, half-way up by the hash marks. Assists went to Burns and Alexander Barabanov.

At the nine-minute mark, Brayden Point went down after some contact with Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Unfortunately, he fell right in the path of Alexander Barabanov, who tripped over his head, knocking Point’s helmet off with the front of his skate. Fortunately, the blade didn’t catch Point. No penalty was called on the play.

The Sharks fended off a strong push from the Lightning in the second half of the third but did get the game to overtime. The Sharks missed out on a power play at 2:06 when Meier was called for embellishment as Ryan McDonagh was called for tripping.

Victor Hedman scored the game winner 41 seconds later with a shot from the slot through traffic.

Timo Meier has not scored a goal in the last five games. He scored once after his spectacular five-goal game in San Jose. He had no shots on goal Tuesday and was assessed a double minor and the overtime penalty.

The Sharks next play on February 14 at home, against the Edmonton Oilers at 7:30 PM PT.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda look to end three game skid against Knights in Vegas Wednesday

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San Jose Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer hopes to guide the Barracuda out of their current three game losing streak against the Vegas Silver Knights in AHL action at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Wed Feb 2, 2022 (photo file from oursportscentral.com)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Jaret Anderson Dolan scored a hat trick as the Ontario Reign (23-7-3-2) scored a season high eight goals to defeat the San Jose Barracuda (14-22-1-0) 8-5 on Monday evening at Toyota Arena.

#2 San Jose has lost three games in a row and six of their last seven.

#3 Ontario has won five of their past six games, including three in a row over the Barracuda. 

#4 The game was rescheduled from the original date of November 27th, 2021 that postponed due to an ice machine malfunction at the Toyota Arena.

#5 San Jose continues its four-game road trip as the start a two-game series with the Henderson Silver Knights on Wednesday 2/2 at 7:00pm at Orleans Arena.

Join Marko for the San Jose Barracuda podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Super Bowl LVI/That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Do Rams have advantage hosting Bengals in the Southland

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On the Super Bowl LVI/That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary:

#1 Amaury, How much of an advantage does the Los Angeles Rams have hosting Super Bowl LVI on their home field at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles?

#2 The Rams had home field when they faced the San Francisco 49ers during the NFC Championship and pulled it out with a win scoring 13 points to edge the 49ers 20-17 on Sunday.

#3 Amaury you’ve said time and time again that the Super Bowl is the biggest stage of all sports that the NFL is the richest league in North America how do you see the TV ratings for this Super Bowl LVI on Sun Feb 13th?

#4 The Cincinnati Bengals also just pulled out a squeaker with a 27-24 win in overtime over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals showed their where with all beating a team who was expected to be back in the Super Bowl in the Chiefs.

#5 Amaury, you’ve seen your share of Super Bowls the NFL, the City of Los Angeles, the Rams organization and the coaches and players have to be excited not only to be in the Super Bowl but TV revenue wise the number two TV market will be bringing in some bucks for the team and the league.

Join Amaury for News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Anderson-Dolan’s hat trick power Reign over Barracuda 8-5

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The San Jose Barracuda bow to the Ontario Reign in a three goal loss at the Toyota Center in Ontario for the Barracuda third loss in a row on Mon Jan 31, 2022 (image by the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

ONTARIO, Calif. —Jaret Anderson Dolan scored a hat trick as the Ontario Reign scored a season high eight goals to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 8-5 on Monday evening at Toyota Arena.

San Jose has lost three games in a row and six of their last seven. Ontario has won five of their past six games, including three in a row over the Barracuda. The game was rescheduled from the original date of November 27th, 2021 that postponed due to an ice machine malfunction at the Toyota Arena.

San Jose (14-22-1-0) drew first blood in the early in the first minute of the first period. Joachim Blichfeld led an odd man rush up the ice with John Leonard. Blichfeld passed it over to Leonard who buried a wrist shot past Reign goalie Lukas Parik for his ninth goal of the season 40 seconds into the contest.

Ontario (23-7-3-2) answered back in half the time. Helge Grans sent a pass through the crease where Jaret Anderson-Dolan wasn’t successful on his first attempt but cleaned up his own rebound by slipping the puck underneath ‘Cuda goalie Sam Harvey for his 12th goal of the season at the 1:00 mark.

The Reign gained the lead over two minutes later. Brett Sutter centered a pass into the middle and Austin Wagner tipped home the puck past Harvey for his ninth goal of the season at the 2:41 mark.

Wagner has scored in all four games against the Barracuda this season.

Ontario scored its third unanswered goal late in the opening frame. Markus Phillips sent a shot in from the left point and Alex Turcotte redirected the puck past Harvey from the slot for his fifth goal of the season at the 16:52 mark.

The first period was very physical that featured two fights off two separate clean hits by San Jose. Kenoi Texeira and Samuel Fagemo tussled with each other at the 13:35 mark. Then Artemi Kniazev and Wagner dropped the gloves at the 17:43 mark.

San Jose cut the lead to a one a goal game early in the second period. Cole Moberg’s slapshot was initially saved by Pirak, Jayden Halbgewachs cashed in the rebound into an open net for his ninth goal of the season at the 5:40 mark.

Halbgewachs snapped a 10-game goal less draught.

Ontario regained their two-goal lead over two minutes later. Anderson-Dolan had a nice give and go with Martin Frk inside the ‘Cuda zone. Dolan tapped home a wrist shot for his second goal of the game at the 7:36 mark.

Anderson-Dolan completed the hat trick 50 seconds later with a power play goal. Jordan Spence slapshot was redirected by Anderson-Dolan who was camped out near the crease for his 14th goal of the season at the 8:26 mark.

Ontario scored its third unanswered goal late in the middle frame. Aidan Dudas sent in a wrist shot from the right wing. Sutter, who was camped out on the right side of the crease, tipped the puck past Harvey for his sixth goal of the season at the 15:46 mark.

San Jose scored a power play goal near the halfway mark of the third period to cut Ontario’s lead in half. Nick Merkley found Halbgewachs open in the neutral zone. Halbgewachs was able to get behind the Reign defense and sniped home a wrist shot top shelf past Pirak for his second goal of the game and 10th of the season at the 9:10 mark.

Samuel Fagemo finished off an odd man rush with Gabriel Vilardi with his 12th goal of the season at the 15:15 mark.

Patrick Holway scored a wraparound goal for San Jose as he was falling down for his third goal of the season at the 16:28 mark.

San Jose made the score look respectable when Jake McGrew tipped in a slapshot from the point by Montana Onyebuchi with 51 seconds left in the game.

Ontario closed out the scoring when Fagemo scored his second goal of the game and 13th of the season with 38 seconds remaining.

Parik finished the evening stopping 19 of the 24 shots he faced to earn the victory. Harvey (2-5) made 22 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort and has four straight games. He is 0-2 versus Ontario this season.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-3 on the power play and are 0-for-9 versus the Reign on the season. Ontario was 1-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Anderson-Dolan 2) Wagner 3) Sutter

Ontario is 4-0 this season against San Jose this season.

San Jose went 3-9 in the month of January.

‘Cuda forward Sasha Chmelevski had two assists in his first game back in the lineup after missing the past seven games with an injury.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its four-game road trip as the start a two-game series with the Henderson Silver Knights on Wednesday 2/2 at 7:00pm at Orleans Arena.

Knicks take out Kings 116-96 at MSG for Sac’s 7th straight loss

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The Sacramento Kings forward Louis King (23) and guard Buddy Hield (24) almost looks as if to say what’s the use as the New York Knicks RJ Barrett (9) lays one in at Madison Square Garden on Mon Jan 31, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

The Sacramento Kings (18-34) ended their five-game road trip at Madison Square Garden with their seventh straight loss, 116-96 to the New York Knicks (24-27) on Monday night.

Sacramento was without their best player, De’Aaron Fox, due to a sore ankle and trailed most of the game.

New York led for the last 43 minutes of the game and by double digits during the whole second half. Going into the final quarter, the Knicks had an 18-point lead.

The Kings’ leading scorers in the blowout loss were Tyrese Haliburton with 21 points and eight assists, and Davion Mitchell with 18 points.

Fox has been out since January 19 and missed four games. Still, Kings coach Alvin Gentry said the team is not worried about the point guard’s absence in the long term.

“I think that he is feeling much better,” Gentry said. “But until he feels that everything is there and that he can make the cuts laterally, we aren’t going to put him out there right now. But I am not concerned.”

Meanwhile, the Knicks snapped their three-game losing streak. Alec Burks and Evan Fournier scored 21 points each, and Julius Randle contributed 17 points and nine rebounds.

Gentry, who coached Randle with the New Orleans Pelicans, had some words about him

“I think he’s a better player,” Gentry said. “And he was a very good player for us. He was outstanding for us, really. I think he’s slowed himself down a little bit. Now I know he’s struggling a bit right now but it’s never because of effort.

Gentry added that Randle hasn’t shot the ball as well as in the past.

“But the way he attacks the basket, and his ability to handle the ball in the open court and create plays are all things he was starting to do when he was in New Orleans and I think he’s much, much better at it right now,” he said.

The Kings (18-34) return home to host the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. Tip-off is at 7pm.

—

Curry takes liberties against Rockets defense scores 40 in 122-108 win

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) pushes the ball up court against Houston Rockets center Christian Wood during first half action at the Toyota Center in Houston on Mon Jan 31, 2022 (AP News photo)

Warriors Add To Rockets Woes Winning 122-108

By Barbara Mason

Monday evening the Warriors (38-13) were on the road in Houston taking on the Rockets (14-36). This is the third meeting between these two teams this season.

The Rockets have lost ten home games in a row while the Warriors have won five games in a row. After completing a seven game home stand the Warriors will be challenged by the Rockets in their house. Golden State aimed for their sixth win in a row and got with a 122-108 victory.

With Andre Iguodala. Nemanja Bjelica, Otto Porter and Draymond Green all out for this game Moses Moody got the start. He would go on to finish with 11 points. Kevon Looney had picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter but that was the only disappointment for Golden State to start this game. They led 10-0 through the first five minutes.

The Rockets came storming back to take the lead 15-14 with five minutes left in the quarter. Having lost so many home games this Rocket team was definitely in desperation mode having not a whole lot to lose leading after 12 minutes 25-23. Looney already had seven rebounds but with two fouls he sat out the latter minutes of the quarter.

At the half the Warriors led 61-52. Looney came back in the game and registered nine rebounds. Once again Andrew Wiggins had a great half scoring 17 points with Stephen Curry shooting for ten points. The Rockets top man Christian Wood had 17 in the first half.

After three quarters the Warriors had distanced themselves from Houston leading 87-78. The Rockets refused to go away continually cutting into the Warriors lead.

Curry had a huge fourth quarter going nuclear with four from downtown. The Rockets had pulled to within four points in the final quarter and then Curry happened. He scored 21 points in the fourth quarter with five rebounds and nine assists.

Curry finished with 40 points. The 21 points was just another record for Curry. Right now he is simply trying to break his own records. There is no limit to what this guy is going to continue to do this season.

Wiggins shot for 23 points and Thompson and Moody had double digits. “Without Draymond it looks a lot different I’m just trying to keep things simple,” said Curry talking about their new defensive look right now.

It is onto San Antonio to play the Spurs tomorrow night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30.