Cal Rallies From 16 Down, Wins at Stanford For 1st Time Since 2016-17

Cal used a 17-2 run over the final 6 1/2 minutes to break a tie score in a see-saw game against rival Stanford, ultimately taking home a 78-66 victory in front of a capacity crowd of 7,291 fans at Maples Pavilion on Saturday.

The Bears (15-5, 3-4) won on the road for the first time this season, snapped a six-game road losing streak to the Cardinal (14-6, 3-4) and reached their high-water mark for victories in a season since 2016-17.

John Camden scored 25 points and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds. Justin Pippen had 18 points, six assists and delivered a masterful defensive effort against Stanford’s high-scoring freshman Ebuka Okorie.

Third-year Cal coach Mark Madsen got his first win in three tries at Maples, where he was an All-America forward a quarter-century ago.

“It’s special,” Madsen said of winning at his alma mater. “I went here. I had a lot of friends in the stands. I’m very grateful for the relationships and time spent here at Stanford.

“That being said, I’m so happy and excited to be at Cal and to be really tryng to build something special.”

Camden is a first-year transfer at Cal but enjoyed the intense atmosphere. And he knows the victory will boost the Bears’ NCAA tournament chances after entering the day at No. 60 in the NET rankings.

“Obviously, it’s a rivalry game so that means a lot to us, first and foremost,” Camden said. “We see the headlines that Stanford’s on the bubble, just like we are. So to get this head-to-head, it means a lot to us and just momentum going forward. It’s a really big win for us.”

With the score tied at 60-all, Cal scored 17 of the next 19 points to take charge.

Chris Bell drilled a 3-pointer to break the tie before Okorie made one of two free throws for the Cardinal. Pippin converted two foul shots for Cal, and Okorie once more made one of two from the line.

Pippen then hit a 3-pointer before reserve guard DJ Campbell scored back-to-back putbacks as the lead surged to 72-62 with 2:23 left. A 3-pointer by Camden and a flying putback dunk by Bell made it 77-62 with 55 second to play.

Okorie, who scored a Stanford freshman-record 36 points against North Carolina last week and was averaging 22.1, never got untracked. He scored 14 points, but shot 1 for 16 from the field and missed all nine of his 3-point attempts.

Pippen got double-team help at times, but Camden gave him all credit for making life miserable for Okorie. “He took that matchup very personally, very seriously,” Camden said. "I think he showed tonight he’s one of the best defenders in the ACC."

“I’m sure he’s tired of hearing about Ebuka Okorie and he had something to prove,” Stanford coach Kyle Smith said of Pippen. “And he played really well."

Cal added to its 38-34 halftime lead with Dai Dai Ames single-handedly outscored Stanford 7-2 over the first 2-plus minutes of the second half, pushing its run to 32-7 since trailing by 16.

The Bears’ lead grew to 56-43 after two free throws by Camden with 13:35 left, but Stanford responded with seven straight points to slice the margin to 56-50.

At that point, with 10:45 left, Cal ran an inbounds alley-oop play from under the basket to Lee Dort. The pass was a bit too high for Dort, who landed awkwardly, was helped off the floor and went immediately to the locker room.

Madsen said he didn’t have an immediate report on Dort’s injury or how long he might be sidelined.

A drive to the hoop by Ames and two free throws by Camden inched the lead back to 60-50 with 9:35 to play. But it was far from over.

Stanford answered with a 10-0 run, fueled by Okorie, who shot 5 for 6 from the foul line and fed Ryan Agarwal for a 3-pointer, and the Cardinal pulled even at 60-all with 6:38 left.

Things didn’t go well for the Bears over the game’s first 14 minutes, during which Stanford mounted its 29-13 lead. Cal was shooting 3 for 18 from the field at that point and had missed eight shots in a row.

But more animated play on defense and a burst by Pippen turned the game.

Pippen assisted Chris Bell on a layup with 5:51 left then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Bears within 29-21.

“I can’t say enough about Justin Pippen,” Madsen said. “He guarded the other team’s best player. He’s pushing the ball in transition. He’s making huge plays. We were completely on our heels during that stretch in the first half. It was Justin that kind of steadied the ship.”

Cal went on to outscore the Cardinal 25-5 over the final 5:51 of the half to scramble into a 38-34 lead by halftime. A driving layup and free throw by freshman guard TT Carr gave Cal a 35-34 lead 1:01 left in the half, the Bears’ first advantage since 9-8.

The Bears didn’t miss a shot from the field to close out the period, hitting their final eight attempts, with Camden adding two 3-pointers and DJ Campbell nailing one of his own.

Stanford made just one of its final nine shots in the half, finishing at 33 percent from the field. Okorie, shadowed much of the half by Pippen, was 0 for 4 from the floor, scoring just four free throws in the period.

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