Stanford defends home court against the No. 23 Golden Bears

The big story all week was the return of Mike Montgomery to the floor he called home for 18 years as the head coach of Stanford's men's basketball team.  While it was a good story to tell all week, it still took a sideline to the story of the resiliency of the players of the Golden Bears.  Winning games in the Pac-10 sometimes takes more than resiliency, as the Bears were unable to perform the same magic that helped them beat the Washington Huskies last weekend.

Earlier in the day, UCLA had lost to visiting Arizona State 61-58 in overtime, setting the stage for a new story to take root on the Cal campus.  That story would be about the Bears being the undisputed leader in the Pac-10 conference, but as it turns out, it wasn't meant to be just yet.

California forward Jamal Boykin (10)
gets the ball away from Stanford
guard Jeremy Green (5) in the
second half of an NCAA basketball
game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday,
Jan. 17, 2009. Stanford defeated
California 75-69. Boykin was Cal's
top scorer with 22 points.
(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The 23rd ranked California Golden Bears (15-3, 4-1 Pac-10) had an end come to their nine-game winning streak, losing to the Stanford Cardinal (12-3, Pac-10) 75-69 on Saturday night at Maples Pavilion.  The victory also snapped a two-game losing streak for the Cardinal in a game where the lead, and the momentum, went back and forth almost throughout the contest.

In a game with 15 lead changes and 10 ties, the difference became Stanford's ability to maintain their composure and play a more fundamentaly sound game against the Bears.  Stanford outscored Cal 17-11 in points off of turnovers, a problem that the entire Bears team could not avoid.  Cal turned the ball over 15 times to the Cardinal 12.

Although Cal also committed 19 fouls to the Cardinal's 10, five came in the last 1:45 of the game while the Bears were trying to make up for a 10-point deficit.  The only other stat that tells the story of the game was the Bears' inability to hit their three-point shots, shooting 33.3% for the game.  The Cardinal made sure to defend the Bears beyond the arc, and in the end, it paid off in the end.

Jamal Boykin had a bit of a coming out party for the Bears.  On the evening, he scored a career-best 22 points on 10-13 shooting, had seven rebounds, four assists, and a blocked shot.  Since the Bears couldn't get a decent look from outside, they often relied on Boykin's agressive inside game to stay in the game.  For most of the season, Boykin had been overshadowed by other players on the Cal roster, but he played well and with much passion, which was displayed late in the second half when he was able to get a layup and an accompanying foul.  Boykin then opened his arms and let out an angry yell, visibly pumped up.

As well as Boykin played, he still wasn't able to outscore Stanford's Lawrence Hill.  Hill scored a game-high 25 points on 11-15 shooting from the field, a perfect 2-2 from beyond the three-point line, and 1-3 from the charity stripe.  He also had three rebounds, three assists, and a steal.  He also scored the game-defining dunk with less than two minutes left in the game that put the Cardinal ahead by 10.

Both teams had three players apiece score in double figures.  Along with Boykin for the Bears, Theo Robertson (7-15 FG, 3-6 3pt, 17 pts), and Jerome Randle (6-14 FG, 1-5 3pt, 13 pts) were able to get to double-figures in scoring.  For Stanford, Anthony Goods (6-12 FG, 2-4 3pt, 19 pts), Landry Fields (6-10 FG, 1-2 3 pt, 15 pts), and Hill all cashed in around the hoop.

Robertson of Cal and Jeremy Green of Stanford led all players with eight rebounds each.  Randle led all players with seven assists, but it was his six turnovers that hurt his cause.  While Cal out-rebounded, out-assisted, and out-scored the Cardinal in the paint, it was their inability to out-defend them that became their undoing.

The Bears will next face Oregon State on their home court, Thursday night.  If they can bounce back from this defeat, they may be able to start the beginning of another 'BIG' story.

Note

• Randle left the court with less than 15 seconds with a possible high ankle sprain - it ended up being a bruise.
• Patrick Christopher's four-game streak of 20+ point scoring games ended when he was only able to score nine points.
• The Bears have now lost 15 of the last 16 games played at Maples Pavilion.
• Cal's nine-game winning streak was their longest since the 1959-'60 season.

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