Tag: Stanford Cardinal

Stanford completes comeback to edge USC 77-76

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By: London Marq

PALO ALTO–The venue was packed at Maples Pavilion as Stanford hosted the USC Trojans in a much-anticipated PAC-12 matchup. After their best performance of the season last Thursday against UCLA, the Cardinal would have an opportunity to improve to .500 on the season.

It was a tail of two halves, as the Trojans were in control early. Metu was the leading scorer from USC. His 20 points helped the Trojans gain an 11-point halftime advantage. Four total players from USC scored in double digits.

The Cardinal came alive in the the second period. They were strong particularly on defensive. Holding an explosive Trojan team to less than 30 points in the second half, they were able to close the gap. The Cardinal defense fueled their offense. Reid Travis pulled in a double-double with 29 points and 10 boards.

His strong performance put Stanford in position for a spectacular finish. At the tail end of the game, the Trojans scored a go-ahead basket to lead by two. With 1.7 seconds left on the clock, Stanford in-bounds the ball to Dajeon Davis. Davis nailed a walk-off 3-pointer from beyond half court before being mobbed by his teammates.

This makes two big wins in a row for the Cardinal, against two notable conference foes. The look to keep up the consistency against Washington State on Thursday.

Stanford defeated USC 77-76.

Up Next: The Cardinal visit the Washington State Cougars on Tuesday at 6 pm PT.

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Matt Harrington: After Thursday’s UCLA stunner Cardinal hope to top act with win over USC on Sunday

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By Matt Harrington

PALO ALTO–It was a little bit of a stunner what Stanford did in their victory over the UCLA Bruins 107-99. They have to look at their potential UCLA is upset with their performance but Stanford needs to look at the game on Thursday as this is your potential. In the final minutes of that double overtime game the Cardinal had four freshman on the floor including the Cardinal’s Dorian Pickens.

The Cardinal shouldn’t be under pressure anymore and after going through a game like that and a lot of time to develop they’ve have grown into the role. Stanford has to look at that as their potential. The Cardinal have got Dorian Pickens back. This is his second game back now. He had a career night that’s what the team’s capable of when they’re healthy.

Matt Harrington does the Stanford Cardinal podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Slow start, turnovers lead to USC rout of Cal in Pac-12 home opener 80-62

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Jonescalbears.com photo: Cal Bears head coach Wyking Jones during recent press conference

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–The pained look on Coach Wyking Jones’ face said it all. The question regarding repeated slow starts for Jones’ California Golden Bears, especially at Haas Pavilion, was fair given that Cal scored just eight points in the first 10 minutes of Thursday’s disappointing 80-62 loss to USC.

And Jones’ response? As honest and revealing as any Division I basketball coach ever wants to be or has to be when admitting his team was outclassed.

“It’s frustrating, but our guys aren’t trying to do that,” Jones said. “They are trying to do the right thing. They are young, it’s a process, and we have to just focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. These guys who are freshman are going to be sophomores next year, and then juniors and then seniors, and really good. You have to focus on what the light at the end of the tunnel is as opposed to what’s going on right now.”

What’s going on for Cal right now is a youth-laden club without a forceful, ball handling leader is taking its lumps.  USC, a pre-season Top 25 pick that’s dealing with a recruiting scandal and its own shortcomings, may have been the last opponent the Bears wanted to see on the occasion of their Pac-12 home opener. Those lumps Cal’s taking were hand delivered by the Trojans on Thursday.

USC’s zone look with arms and hands everywhere befuddled the Bears to the tune 22 turnovers juxtaposed against just 13 assists on 23 made baskets.  Of those 23 baskets, only eight came in the first half when Cal fell behind by 26 points (38-12 with 1:54 remaining).  The deficit grew to 30 points briefly in the second half as Cal’s issues offensively morphed into defensive indifference.  While the final score was more palatable, this marked the third time this season Cal has lost by 18 or more points at home this season.

If the light at the end of the tunnel that Coach Jones spoke of was to be interpreted literally, it would have been one lit candle at the western most juncture of BART’s Transbay Tube on Thursday.

“We have another game on Saturday against UCLA so we have to move past this and regather tomorrow morning, and prepare for UCLA,” said freshman Justice Sueing, who led the Bears with 15 points.

In fairness to the Bears, the Trojans are the last team a struggling outfit wants to see. Just ask USC’s most recent opponent Washington State.  With the Cougars methodically trying to regain their footing against the Trojans on New Years’ Eve after a first half that was as poor as Cal’s, WSU cut USC’s lead to just eight points. But on the next six possessions, Washington State committed five turnovers and saw their deficit balloon to 18 points in less than the three minutes that elapsed on the game clock.

Against Cal, USC’s zone caused the Bears to be extremely tentative to the point that guards Don Coleman and Darius McNeill became non-factors in the first 25 minutes of the game.  Cal’s normally high scoring guards combined to miss 13 of their 16 shots while committing six turnovers.  While McNeill found a way to extend his impressive streak of hitting at least one three-pointer in 14 of his 15 games as a collegian, his penetration into the paint was almost non-existent.

Marcus Lee had an impressive start offensively with a follow dunk and a couple of other buckets from point blank range, but five turnovers and foul trouble kept the Kentucky transfer from making much of a difference as the game progressed.

The Trojans were led by Nick Rakocevic with 19 points. Bennie Boatwright added 15 points, and Jordan Usher had 14 off the bench for USC.

Chimezie Metu was suspended for the first 20 minutes for his actions against Washington State in which cameras caught the 6’10” junior jabbing an opponent in the groin. Metu played 11 minutes in the second half, in which his epic dunk over Lee immediately triggered a SportsCenter alert all the way across the country at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

The Bears return to the hardwood on Saturday when UCLA visits Haas Pavilion at 3:30pm.

Stanford defeats Pac-12’s #1 UCLA 107-99 in double OT

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Photo: @StanfordMBB

By Alexandra Evans

The Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball team (now 7-8) kicked off 2018 with a match against the visiting UCLA Bruins, who went into the match 11-3 (first place in the Pac-12 Conference).

After UCLA took the lead for the first part of the game, Dorian Pickens tied the score 22-22 (with a three-pointer) with six minutes left in the first half, as the shot clock reached zero. Travis then got a layup and a free throw to give the Cardinal the lead once again (25-24), and Dorian Pickens got another three-pointer just after the Bruins’ Jaylen Hands got a jumper, and the Cardinal trailed by only one point.

For the remaining minutes of the match, the Bruins managed to re-tie the score each time the Cardinal took a lead. After Hands’ basket, Michael Humphrey shot for Stanford, then 30 seconds later, UCLA’s Gyorgy Goloman made a three-pointer and tied the score 30-30. Oscar da Silva got a layup, but Aaron Holiday (who leads UCLA in points per game) made both free throws and gave the Bruins a 34-32 lead.

Then, it was Stanford who had to catch up. Kris Wilkes got a layup for UCLA to give them a 36-32 lead. It took two layups from Okpala to tie the score again (36-36). The Bruins clearly weren’t having it, determined to keep their lead. Prince Ali (not to be mistaken with the Disney character Aladdin’s alter ego) got a three-pointer and a layup within 30 seconds of one another. The Bruins led the Cardinal 41-36 at halftime.

The Cardinal, moved to make a comeback against the conference’s first-place team, inch their way up on the scoreboard each time the Bruins took a lead, which the latter team managed to keep. Shots alternated between both teams, beginning with Travis, then UCLA’s Thomas Welsh, a three-pointer from Stanford’s Daejon Davis, two free throws from Holiday, another three-pointer by Pickens, then one from Holiday, a layup from Okpala, and two completed free throws from Holiday which put the Bruins four points ahead at 50-46.

After a time-out just before the five-minute mark, Pickens got his fourth three-pointer of the night, bringing the Cardinal down by only one point. Despite a consistent number of baskets  for the Cardinal at the 30-minute mark of the match (10 minutes into the second period), they remained inferior to the Bruins, who were up by 10 at that point (71-61).

UCLA increased their double-digit lead as soon as Goloman got a three-pointer, and they stayed ahead even after Okpala made two free throws (the Cardinal trailed 74-63). Davis cut Stanford’s trail to single digits (after making a layup and a free throw, and after a dunk from Travis right after Holiday’s layup. Though Ali made a three-pointer and gave the Bruins a 12-point lead, Humphrey got a three pointer followed by a dunk, and the Cardial only trailed by seven, then only by five when Pickens got a layup with four minutes left in the game.

After a free throw from UCLA’s Alex Olesinski and two from Davis, Stanford trailed only by four. Wilkes was fouled for the Bruins, giving Davis two free throw opportunities. He made only one, after which the Cardinal were only a three-pointer away from tying the Bruins.

Da Silva got a layup assisted by Pickens with 46 seconds left in the game, and then the Cardinal were only a basket away from exceeding the Bruins. However, a layup from Holiday allowed the Bruins to keep their lead. Humphrey was fouled with 18 seconds left, but Ali missed both free throws for UCLA. Miraculously, Pickens got another three-pointer, his fifth of the night, with six seconds left to tie the score 85-85.

In overtime, Humphrey made two free throws to give the Cardinal their first lead since the opening minutes of the first half, but the Bruins quickly came back when Thomas Welsh made a layup and a free throw. Davis got a layup and gave Stanford a one-point lead (89-88), but after Goloman made a free throw, the score was tied again, and then the Bruins regained their lead after a jumper from Holiday (91-89).

Okpala tied the score with two and a half minutes left (91-91), and then it was up to the Cardinal’s defense to ensure the Bruins would not surpass them yet again, which they managed to do. And then, with only half a minute left, da Silva dunked and gave the Cardinal the lead. After a successful free throw from Okpala, they were ahead 94-91 until Holiday made a buzzer-beating three-pointer. The score was tied once again (94-94), sending the match into a second overtime period.

It was all defense for the Cardinal as the Bruins had possession of the ball when the second OT period began. Okpala was fouled, and then Ali made two free throws to give the Bruins a two point lead. Josh Sharma got a layup for the Cardinal and tied the score 96-96, but then he was fouled. Ali made one free throw and the Bruins were only one point ahead. There was hope for the Cardinal, until Sharma was fouled again, giving Ali two more free throw opportunities. He made both, and the Bruins led the Cardinal 99-96.

Pickens made two free throws after Holiday was fouled, cutting the Bruins’ lead to only one point. Sharma was fouled again for Stanford, after which Hands failed to make both free throw opportunities. Goloman was fouled for UCLA, giving Isaac white two free throw opportunities, which he missed. Pickens made his sixth free throw of the evening, and the Cardinal were in the lead again (101-99).

Davis saved the day (or, rather, the evening) when he got a layup with half a minute remaining to give the Cardinal a four point lead (103-99). White again received two free throw opportunities when Hands was fouled, both of which he made. Pickens also made two free throws, and the Cardinal took home a 107-99 victory.

Pickens and Davis led the team in points with 26 and 22 points, respectively, and Travis (who had 18 points) led the team in rebounds with 11.

Next, Stanford will face the USC Trojans (10-5) on Sunday, January 7 at home.

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Alexandra Evans: Pickens returns from foot injury; Okpala’s defense good looking forward to tuning up on offense

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

On the Stanford Men’s Basketball Podcast with Alexandra:

Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase has expressed his concerns about the defense particularly after dropping a home game against Cal on their home floor at Maples Pavilion last weekend. The Cardinal held a 17-point only to see it dissolve in 7.5 minutes of the first half. Haase was also concerned about their 6-8 record and how to pull out of it but laying defense as a big factor.

The return of Dorian Pickens is key for the Cardinal, Pickens was out after missing seven weeks due to a foot injury, and Kezie Okpala, who missed the first 12 games of the season due to improving his academics and made his first appearance at Sacramento for the neutral site game against the Kansas Jayhawks. It was a game that Okpala remembered with mostly Jayhawks fans, but Okpala–despite losing the game by 21–pushed hard throughout the game.

Alexandra Evans is Stanford Cardinal beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Cal Bears Podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Cal win last Saturday at Stanford could help Cal turn the page

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–Cal did kind of a shocking thing being down 17 points behind Stanford last Saturday, down 11 points with 3:29 to play and they pulled it out in regulation and beat the Cardinal on Stanford’s home floor 74-71. 18 points in that last three minutes in 29 seconds. Cal scored 11 out of their last 13 possessions and to say a win like that is rare is an understatement.

When you think about the history of Cal at Maples Pavilion visiting Stanford and all of the struggles this might be one for the ages but definitely one that will last in the memory for quite awhile and for a team this young another building block for them to take and grow with. With 3:29 to play, FS1 broadcaster Steve Levin said Cal was trying to get it into single digits.

The Bears have a tough task coming as they face USC this Thursday and UCLA on Saturday.

Morris and Michael do the Cal podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Stanford Cardinal defeated 77-74 by archival Cal Bears in Pac-12 opener

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Photo: @StanfordMBB

By Alexandra Evans

PALO ALTO—The Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball team faced their first Pac-12 opponent of the season and cross-Bay Area rivals, the California Golden Bears, at Maples Pavillion two days before the new year.

Don Coleman, Marcus Lee, Justice Sueing, Nick Hamilton, and Darius McNeill started for the visiting Golden Bears. Kezie Okpala, Daejon Davis, Reid Travis, Michael Humphrey, and Dorian Pickens (who was out with an injury earlier this season) started for the Cardinal.

Cal’s Marcus Lee made the first basket of the game 17 seconds in, and Stanford’s Michael Humphrey made the second basket 13 seconds later. Cal made another two baskets over the course of 24 seconds and exceeded Stanford by four points at the 1:25 mark, until Reid Travis got a layup 15 seconds later at the 1:40 mark and Dorian Pickens made a three-pointer at 2:16, commencing Stanford’s lead over Cal, which would gradually increase throughout the first half.

Stanford’s Michael Humphrey more than doubled the lead just over 4 minutes in (13-6), and Stanford upped their lead to 10 points at the halfway point of the first 20 minutes. The score more than doubled again at the 12-minute mark (25-12) when Kezie Okpala made a jumper, assisted by Robert Cartwright.

The energy on the court and in the stands amped up significantly in the remaining five minutes of the first half, during which Stanford did not let their lead drop below 11 points. Humphrey made a dunk at 18:06 which put the Cardinal at a 14-point lead over the Bears, followed by a three-pointer from Dorian Pickens, bringing the lead to 17 points and then down to 15 after Cal’s Justice Sueing made two free throws following a foul on Oscar da Silva. Coleman made a three-pointer for the Bears with 30 seconds left in the half, and the Cardinal exceeded the Bears 37-24 at halftime.

Cal would slowly catch up to Stanford throughout the second half, and eventually exceed them. Coleman made the first basket, cutting Stanford’s lead over Cal to 11 points, and then by 10 points at the 3:18 mark when Lee got a jumper. Humphrey scored for Stanford, then Sueing for Cal, and the Cardinal’s lead was once again a point away from the single digits. Every time Stanford’s lead was cut to 10 points, they would score again to keep their lead above it through the first 10 minutes of the second half. Lee dunked for Cal, and less than a minute later, Josh Sharma made a jumper followed by a layup from Travis, giving Stanford a 15-point lead (55-40) at 6:43. The score was 60-45 just after the 10-minute mark, courtesy of Humphrey’s layup. 20 seconds later, McNeill got a 3-pointer for Cal. Stanford attained a 17 point lead after a 3-pointer from Davis with 9:28 remaining in the half.

Stanford’s lead was cut to single-digits when Cal’s Kingsley Okoroh got a layup with 6:12 left; they only led Cal by nine points. Coleman got a layup almost a minute after Okoroh, bringing the score to 66-59. Humphrey dunked for the Cardinal, inching the way back to a double-digit lead. He made a jumper one minute after his dunk and brought Stanford’s lead to 11 points once again. However, McNeill made a three-pointer for Cal directly after, followed by two layups and a free-throw from Sueing; Cal trailed by only three points. Travis quickly retaliated for Stanford with a layup and a free throw, bringing their lead up to six points. With 1:17 left in the game, Grant Anticevich made a three-pointer for Cal, making the score 73-72, giving Cardinal fans a “sudden death” feeling. Sueing got a layup and a free throw, and the Bears led the Cardinal for the first time since the beginning of the match (73-75). Travis was given two free throw opportunities with 20 seconds left in the match, only one of which he made. Davis was then fouled for Stanford, and Coleman, with two free-throw opportunities, made both for Cal with 17 seconds remaining. Travis had a chance at a three-pointer in the final seconds, but could not make it past Cal’s defense.

The Bears took home a 77-74 win.

“You go into every game confident that you’re going to win,” Humphrey said after being asked about the expectations of facing an identically ranked team. “We were all fired up to play [a rivalry game]. We wanted to start off Pac-12 play the right way, but we didn’t do that.”

Stanford struggled to make a majority of their free throws, which could have been the “make or break” of the overall score.

“I’ve probably worked more with free throws and shot more with [Stanford] than any other team I’ve ever had,” said Coach Jerod Haase. “To miss 16 free throws is going to be a problem. Ideally, you don’t get into that situation if the lead [in points] is a little bit bigger.”

Haase continued, “The experience and the cohesion of playing together is still growing, as is the execution of everything we are doing. But at the end of the day, you find ways to get stops at the end of a game… this game is going to sting, it’s going to hurt, but I feel as though we are building a foundation of something special.”

Both Stanford and Cal were 6-7 going into the match; one could argue that the outcome was going to be unpredictable. Stanford’s leader in points, Travis, averages 21.4 points per game (almost double that of his runner-up, Michael Humphrey, who has an average of 11.6 points per game). Cal’s point leader, Coleman, averages 20.5 points per game.

The Stanford Men’s Basketball team will commence the new year with a home match against the UCLA Bruins on January 4, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Cal Bears Podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Cal trying to put bad taste of Portland State behind them; Stanford up next at the Farm

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AP File: California guard Don Coleman (14) scored 19 points brings the ball up court during NCAA Men’s Basketball game between Portland State Vikings and California Golden Bears 81-106 lost at Hass Pavilion Berkeley Calif. Thurman James / CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–The game that Portland State and Cal played on Thursday, December 21st at Haas Pavilion wound up as a Vikings’ 106-81 win. Before that game, the Bears who were on a two game streak were looking good and making some progress they were getting better each time out they pulled themselves to a .500 record at 6-6. Then they laid a whole clutch of eggs right before Christmas time.

It’s almost as if they went out and scheduled mid majors that were guaranteed to shock assessing the case of Portland State and Central Arkansas who the Bears hosted in Berkeley these are good teams. It’s just not pigeonholed into some kind of fodder for a power five conference team. So Cal got the brunt of that. The unfortunate thing is they got the brunt of it at home, in the first half, in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Bears simply struggled against this opponent.

Morris and Michael have much more on the Cal Bears Basketball Podcast and each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal defeat Denver Pioneers 75-62 at home

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Photo: @StanfordMBB

By Alexandra Evans

PALO ALTO–The Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball team returned home from Southern California (after getting defeated by Long Beach State 76-68 on Sunday, December 3) to face, and defeat, the University of Denver Pioneers.

Stanford, who recently endured four consecutive defeats before winning two of the three most recent matches, kept a lead over Denver the entire match, even though the Pioneers trailed close at various moments.

In addition to the Cardinal’s 75-62 win, this match also marked freshman Daejon Davis’ career-peaking game to date as his first college quarter comes to a close. The stars of the game were and Davis and Reid Travis, who each put up 20 points.

”With the long [5 day] stretch off, coach [Haase] really held us accountable on everything,” Davis said. ”The level of focus on the little things helped us.”

Even the Pioneers’ coach, Rodney Billups, had to acknowledge Davis’ acceleration.

“Davis got hot. We didn’t anticipate him making so many shots. If you look at his season stats from behind the arc, we would have bet that he would not make so many tonight. But good players make plays,” Billups said.

Isaac White was the runner-up for Stanford. He put up 17 points and contended that being under .500 is “unacceptable.” Losing teams do not make NCAA tournaments, White explained, clearly wanting to compensate for the Cardinal’s recent streak of losses.

”We got a win. That was the number one thing,” Jerod Haase, Stanford’s coach, said following the match, also noting that the team was much stronger offensively tonight.

The Cardinal will face the University of San Francisco Dons this Sunday, December 17, at 3:00 p.m.

Long Beach State rallies to upend Cardinal 76-68

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Photo credit: Stanford Cardinal

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, December 3, 2017

Despite the efforts of junior Reid Travis, the Stanford Cardinal dropped a 78-66 men’s basketball decision to the Long Beach State 49ers Sunday in a non-conference game at Walter Pyramid.

Travis posted his third double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 26 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. It was the seventh time Travis has topped the 20-point mark this season, scoring 18 of his points in the second half.

Stanford (4-6) led by as many as five points midway through the second half before the 49ers (4-6) rallied to take the lead with eight minutes to play.

Travis scored eight straight points to pull the Cardinal to within 62-61 at 3:21 of the second half. Long Beach State responded with an 8-0 run in the final three minutes, scoring 14 of the game’s last 21 points.

Jordan Griffin scored eight straight points during the 49ers game-clinching run. Griffin led LBSU with 21 points, followed by Bryan Alberts (15), Gave Levin (13) and Deishaun Booker (13).

Freshman Isaac White added 17 points for the Cardinal, and senior Michael Humphrey had 13 points and six rebounds.

The 49ers scored 17 points off 17 Stanford turnovers. LBSU outshot the Cardinal 51 percent (28-55) to 49 percent (28 of 57, 6-19 3-pointers), including 45 percent from 3-point range (10 of 22).

At the free throw line, LBSU hit 63 percent from the stripe (10 of 16), while Stanford was 60 percent (6 of 10).

The Cardinal held a 37-24 rebounding edge and collected five steals.

After a break for final exams, the Cardinal return to action on Friday, Dec. 19, hosting the Denver Pioneers at 7 p.m. PST at Maples Pavilion.