BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) – Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins was quite comfortable putting the game in the hands of his three starting seniors down the stretch against California.
It's a strategy that's worked well for the Cardinal most of the season and has Dawkins' team near the top of the Pac-12 standings.
Chasson Randle scored 25 points, Anthony Brown made two key 3-pointers in the final five minutes and Stanford held on to beat California 69-59 on Wednesday night.
"My seniors were terrific tonight," Dawkins said. "Those guys have all stepped up. Whether it's a big defensive play for us, scoring the basketball, they seem to always come up with that play that's needed."
Stefan Nastic added 15 points and nine rebounds while Brown finished with 18 points for the surging Cardinal (12-4, 4-1 Pac-12). Stanford has won four straight and eight of 10 overall to stay percentage points behind No. 8 Utah.
It hasn't been an easy ride for Dawkins' team. Two of the Cardinal's past four games have gone to overtime while the other two were decided by a total of 12 points.
This was another close one until Randle, Nastic and Brown helped Stanford pull away.
"Even when we made runs, their seniors kept their role guys in the game, kept them locked in," Cal head coach Cuonzo Martin said. "That's what it looks like when you have veteran guys, experienced guys. It's a great lesson for us to learn from."
Stanford's defense limited California to three baskets over the final seven minutes, allowing the Cardinal to break open a game that had been close throughout the night.
"We knew they were going to come out with fight and they should," Randle said. "We had to keep our composure. Our seniors led the way, especially in the second half."
Stanford is the first Pac-12 team with four conference wins this season. Utah is 3-0 in conference and hosts Arizona State on Thursday.
Tyrone Wallace had 14 points and nine rebounds, David Kravish scored 11 with nine rebounds and Jordan Mathews had 10 points for the Golden Bears. California (11-7, 1-4) has lost four straight.
"In the second half shots weren't falling for us ... and they made some big plays," Kravish said. "We were making stops but when it came down to the other end, we couldn't complete it."
Stanford led 49-45 with just over nine minutes left when the Cardinal pulled away.
Randle, who had 11 points in the first half, got Stanford rolling when he scored on an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Brown. He later added a short jumper then closed out the night with a pair of free throws to put the Cardinal up 67-57 with 1:09 remaining.
Jabari Bird, playing for the second time since missing 10 consecutive games due to a left foot injury, came off the bench to give Cal a lift in the first half. After missing his first shot, Bird made a pair of 3-pointers then later added two free throws to help give the Bears a 31-26 halftime lead.
Stanford led six times in first half but was held without a bucket over the final five minutes following a long jumper by Nastic.
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NOTES: Stanford has won five of the last seven meetings overall and three in a row at Haas Pavilion for the first time since collecting four straight victories from 1998-2001 … Tonight was Stanford’s first visit to Berkeley in January since 2012 … Chasson Randle notched his eighth 20-point game of the season and 34th of his career … Stefan Nastic has scored in double figures in 15 of Stanford’s 16 games. Eight of Nastic’s nine rebounds came in the second half … Anthony Brown has made at least three three-pointers in five of the last seven games … Stanford finished with eight turnovers and has committed 10 or fewer miscues in 10 games this season … Head coach Johnny Dawkins used his seventh lineup combination of the season, with Marcus Allen making his second career start and Rosco Allen back on the floor after seven consecutive games coming off the bench … Grant Verhoeven was unavailable (hip) after starting the previous four games … The game featured five ties and 12 lead changes … Stanford hosts Connecticut on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. PT (ESPN2). UConn’s visit represents the first time the Cardinal will be taking a break during conference play since March 1, 2011, when Stanford hosted Seattle University prior to the Pac-10 regular season finale against Cal.
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Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins
“It’s a rivalry game and you never know what to expect, but I thought both teams came out right away and definitely were competing and I give my guys a lot of credit. At halftime we were able to make some adjustments and execute very well in the second half, both offensively as well as defensively. I’m just really proud of their effort and proud of their ability to make the adjustments after being down at halftime.”
“Our point of emphasis was a lot about energy and about sharing energy and about doing it offensively and defensively. We only had one assist in the first half and that’s not us, so we had to have a good talk about that and get our guys focused on how we need to play basketball to be successful. Our guys really bought into it and like I said it was the seniors who set the pace.”
“We have a lot of confidence in Stef to play around the basket and he did that tonight. There were stretches in the game where he really just carried us. Being able to throw it inside to him and him being productive was good for us. And he doesn’t always have to shoot it – he can get some assists and run it back out to some of our shooters.”
“I’m always concerned when Randle’s in foul trouble. That always bothers me. But you have to learn how to still be successful when you face that type of adversity. When he picked up his fourth and there was that much time left in the game you have some tough decisions. How long do you leave him out? Do you let him go? And so we had to think about it. We took him out for a little while and then we stuck him back in with about six plus to go and said ‘Hey, just ride it out.’ And he did a great job of being a senior, he didn’t pick up his fifth foul. He stayed disciplined on defense and helped us get through the game tonight.”
“It was good for us. I told our guys that we’re almost at the halfway point of the season now and we should be learning from each one of these games and getting better. We talk about finishing all the time – finishing possessions, finishing games. We use that word all the time. It was good to see our guys do a good job in the second half, especially focusing and finishing the way we can and that’s just understanding the value of every possession and they did that tonight. You want to get better from these experiences that we’ve had. I think the trip down to Los Angeles was a good trip for us. I think we learned a lot about ourselves and what we have to do to be successful and hopefully we can continue to learn as we go forward.”
California Head Coach Cuonzo Martin
“I thought both teams played with energy. It was a great effort. You have to credit their seniors for playing well, keeping their guys in the game, making the right plays and being sound. When we made runs, they kept their composure. Their seniors kept their role guys in the game and kept them locked him. They found those guys and gave them easy looks. Chasson [Randle] played extremely well. [Anthony] Brown played really well. It’s a good team. That’s what it looks like when you have veteran, experienced guys. It’s a great lesson for us to learn from.”
“I think it was a case that they made a couple shots and that’s what we’ve got to get through. If guys make some shots and make plays, keep your composure and keep your head up, and continue to find ways to score. When they make a run and they press up with their defense, we try to do all the little things, take what the defense gets you and not force shots. It’s a lesson for us.”
“Going into the game, the plan was to double Nastic. But I thought he did a good job in the second half in terms of where he was catching the ball. If he caught in on the low blocks you send the double, but he caught it high. If you catch it high, then the guy you left is in the corner and then he’s wide open. You’ve got four perimeter guys shooting the ball. Obviously Randle and Brown are two exceptional shooters. So if you’re doubling, you’ve got to pick your poison. It’s tough. The way he was catching the ball it’s hard to double.”
“I’m not necessarily worried about Tyrone taking 22 shots. They biggest key for him is to find the guy behind him when he’s driving. Especially if you have Dwight [Tarwater], Jabari [Bird] and Jordan [Mathews] shooting the ball well. Now you have threats. Now it’s just a matter of getting used to finding those right guys. I’m not concerned with Tyrone as far as shooting the ball. He’ll make the right decision.”
“It’s painful because of the loss. What I talked to my veteran guys about was experience. This is an experienced team. You have to beat them from start to finish. They’re not going to give you the game, regardless of the score. You only know the final outcome when the buzzer sounds. You can’t let up against these guys. They’re experienced guys that win games on the road. They’re a Sweet 16 team. Those guys are battle tested. They know what it takes to win games. For our guys to understand this is what it takes to win game. Keep your composure. Find ways to win games. Get stops. It’s also another case of where there are talented players in certain positions. You have to be a good one-on-one defender.”
California Senior David Kravish
“We got really juiced for this game. It’s a big rivalry game for us and we had been coming out really slow so one of our focuses was to come out with that fire and passion from the very beginning. We did that, and we fought hard. In the second half, shots weren’t falling for us. They made some big plays. You have got to give them credit because they have some really good players that made big plays for them throughout the game so we just need to battle through the game, all 40 minutes.”
“I’ll take this loss over our last however many. The effort was there, the passion was there and we were really fighting for it. You saw in that first possession we got three or four straight offensive rebounds. We didn’t score, but the hustle and the heart was there. If that’s the way we have to lose, I’ll take it that way.”
California Junior Tyrone Wallace
“They played the deep drive really well. I just have to recognize that and get to my left hand more. Tonight I shot too many shots. David (Kravish) was 5-6, so I should have gotten him the ball more. I thought we played hard today. This is a loss we have to take.”
“I think it shows if we play with that intensity every day we’ll always be in the game, even if we are struggling to score. We were battling, helping each other out on defense, talking more, were more engaged and we were right there until the end. They made some big shots there at the end to get the lead up so I think we still should be confident in each other and ourselves.”