Cal Basketball: Bears Equal Program Record With 16 3-Pointers, Rout Stanford 92-70

Barely a week ago, Cal was among the nation’s poorest 3-point shooting teams, converting just 26 percent from beyond the arc through its first 14 games.

On Friday night at Haas Pavilion, the Golden Bears tied a 14-year-old school record by making 16 shots from 3-point distance and Cal routed Stanford 92-70 for its second straight Pac-12 Conference victory.

After starting this season 0-12, the Bears (3-13, 2-3 Pac-12) have won two in a row and three of four.

They were averaging 58 points per game through their first 14 outings but have scored at an 86-point clip in wins over Colorado and Stanford. They made 23 of 35 attempts from the 3-point arc -- 66 percent -- in those two games.

The difference, coach Mark Fox said, is the arrival of graduate transfer DeJuan Clayton, who missed the team’s first 13 games with a hamstring injury and delivered 26 points in just his third appearance of the season.

“We are not the 0-12 team you guys saw,” sophomore Sam Alajiki says in the video at the top. “We didn’t have DeJuan. We didn’t play together a lot, like at all. This is a completely different team. Everyone can feel it.”

Certainly the crowd of 3,648 fans felt it. They were inspired to give their team a standing ovation in the waning moments as Fox removed regulars from the floor.

It was a stunning shooting exhibition by the Bears, who made seven of their first eight attempts from 3-point distance and finished 16 for 22 for a robust 72.7 percent. Their 16 3’s tied the program record set against Arizona on March 5, 2009.

This from a team that was 19 for 98 from 3-point range during a six-game stretch earlier this year. The Bears had games of 3 for 20, 4 for 17, 2 for 15, 3 for 21.

Clayton, who scored 1,500 points in four seasons at Coppin State, showed calm and confidence on the floor, burying 6 of 8 from deep to go with six assists and zero turnovers in 34 minutes. The left-hander didn’t force a thing but made Stanford pay when he was left open on the perimeter.

“He can score at all three levels,” Stanford coach Jerod Hasse said. “The 3-point shooting built confidence for the rest of their team.”

Stanford (5-10, 0-5) actually made its first six shots of the game, but Clayton sank his first four 3-point tries and suddenly everyone was in on the act.

“I feel like with every team once one guy gets it going it’s easier for everyone to play with confidence,” Clayton said. “I think we showed that tonight.”

Alajiki scored a career-high 19 points in 19 minutes off the bench, fueled by 5 for 6 on 3’s. And senior forward Kuany Kuany also scored a career best with 18 points, including 3 for 4 from deep, along with five rebounds and three assists.

Just about the only thing that slowed the Bears offensively was Kuany’s shoelaces. They became untied after he made a 3-pointer and was fouled with 15:26 to play. Kuany couldn’t get them unknotted so one of the game officials leaned over to lend a hand.

After an ordeal that took nearly a minute, the shoelace crisis was over and Kuany completed made a free throw to complete the four-point play and boost Cal’s lead to 60-46.

Point guard Joel Brown had a season-high seven assists as the Bears collected 21 assists — their most since 22 against Washington in 2019.

The Bears shot a season-best 59 percent from the field, cashed 10 Stanford turnovers into 18 points and trailed for just 3 minutes, 12 seconds all night.

“It’s all about confidence,” said Alajiki, who was just 11 for 41 from deep this season entering Friday’s game. “In practice we’re been making them and we expect in the game to make them. That’s why sometimes we look so distraught."

The Bears obviously won’t make three-quarters of their 3-pointers on a regular basis, but Clayton believes they are ready to take off.

“I just think now we’re coming together at the right time,” he said. "We’re learning how to play with each other and we’re just going to keep going from here.”

Fox said Clayton has been hugely frustrating at times this season because he was unable to help his team. Cal played again without junior transfer Devin Askew, their leading scorer, who is sidelined for the third different time due to injury or illness, but having their other veteran backcourt player in the mix was critical on Friday.

“It’s amazing the difference DeJuan makes on our team,” Fox says in the video below. “He makes everybody better.”

Cal beat Stanford at home for the second straight season and the third time in four years. Fox said he tries to treat most games the same, but acknowledged that facing the school’s historic rival is different.

He talks in the video below about pushing the team extra-hard on Wednesday of this week to be ready for game night.

Alajiki confirmed that.

“We were preparing hard, very hard, all week, to make sure we won this game."

Cover photo of Cal guard DeJuan Clayton by Stan Szeto, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo