By ANTONIO GONZALEZ AP Sports Writer ADVERTISING STANFORD, Calif. — Chasson Randle scored 17 points, Aaron Bright had 12 points and hit some big free throws in the final minute, and Stanford denied rival California a share of the Pac-12
By ANTONIO GONZALEZ
AP Sports Writer
STANFORD, Calif. — Chasson Randle scored 17 points, Aaron Bright had 12 points and hit some big free throws in the final minute, and Stanford denied rival California a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title with a 75-70 victory on Sunday.
Andrew Zimmermann added 13 points to help the Cardinal (20-10, 10-8) build a 15-point halftime lead they never surrendered. Stanford also sealed a 20-win season for the first time since coach Johnny Dawkins’ opening year in 2008-09.
Allen Crabbe scored 20 points and Harper Kamp added 19 points and seven rebounds as the Bears (23-8, 13-5) fell short of sharing the conference crown with Washington and securing the top seed in the league tournament. Cal, which beat Stanford 69-59 in Berkeley on Jan. 29, has won only two of its last 11 trips to Maples Pavilion.
Senior Day almost turned into Cardinal collapse.
Kamp converted a three-point play after getting held by Randle and finishing at the rim, and David Kravish followed with an alley-oop layup from Justin Cobbs that sliced Stanford’s lead to three with 1:53 remaining.
Josh Owens missed the front-end of a one-and-one and fouled out going for the rebound. Crabbe made one of two free throws to pull the Bears within 72-70.
Aaron Bright made the first free throw on Stanford’s next possession, then missed the second but corralled the rebound. Bright repeated the free throw-rebound combination twice more in stunning fashion, and the Cardinal held on for a victory that provided some much-needed momentum heading into the Pac-12 tournament that begins Wednesday in Los Angeles.
One of the worst starts of the year for Cal was just too much to overcome.
The two teams also had some heated exchanges typical of the long-running Bay Area rivalry. They combined for four technical fouls — two on each side — and stayed on edge for 40 minutes.
The first exchange started when Cobbs and Zimmermann bumped chests. Cardinal guard Jarrett Mann interceded, setting off a brief scrum that never escalated beyond a few shoves. Cobbs and Mann were called for technical fouls.
The emotions energized the home crowd during the delay — with cheers of “Go Stanford!” drowning out Bears fans — and triggered an 18-4 run by the Cardinal highlighted by a dazzling dribbling display, a 3-pointer and a short jumper by Randle to give Stanford a 21-8 lead.
The Bears made just three of their first 17 shots from the floor, and leader Jorge Gutierrez also picked up two fouls in the first 5:02, relegating him to the bench before returning with three fouls before the break. Cal fell behind by 15 points, and officials whistled Gutierrez for a technical foul late in the half after Cal’s fiery point guard shouted at Dwight Powell.
That exchange seemed to pull the Bears out of hibernation.
Cobbs made a jumper and Crabbe added a 3-pointer to cap a quick burst of offense that chopped Cal’s deficit to only four late in the half. Crabbe’s 3-pointer 14 seconds into the second half brought the Bears within 39-37, the closest they would get until 71 seconds remained.
