STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Justice Sueing scored eight points in the final three minutes and California rallied from 17 points down in the second half to defeat Stanford 77-74 Saturday night in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
The Golden Bears (7-7, 1-0) trailed 65-48 before outscoring the Cardinal 27-8 over the last 7½ minutes to win at Maples Pavilion for the first time since 2014.
Sueing fueled the comeback with a pair of three-point plays, both coming as part of an 18-4 game-ending run by California. Darius McNeill and Grant Anticevich added 3-pointers during the run and Don Coleman made a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left.
Dorian Pickens scored 13 points in his return for Stanford (6-8, 0-1) after missing seven weeks with a foot injury. Michael Humphrey added 15 points and 13 rebounds, Reid Travis had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Kezie Okpala scored 11 for the Cardinal.
Sueing finished with 18 points, Marcus Lee had 19 points and seven rebounds, Coleman scored 15 points and McNeill added 13 for California.
Stanford shot well early and had little trouble scoring against California's zone defense. Reid Travis had six points as part of a 13-0 run and Robert Cartwright made a 3-pointer to cap an 11-4 run.
The Cardinal also held the Bears scoreless for two long stretches that covered more than nine minutes.
Stanford returns to action in Maples Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 4, hosting UCLA at 7 p.m. PT.