STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford's second-half rally fell short in a 64-59 loss to California on Thursday night in the regular-season finale for both teams at Maples Pavilion.
Trailing by 21 with just under seven minutes remaining, the Cardinal closed to within 58-55 following a three-pointer from Cormac Ryan with 1:23 left to play.
However, Connor Vanover converted a three-point play on the next sequence, making it 61-55 and the Golden Bears were able to ice the game with free throws.
Stanford (15-15, 8-10 Pac-12) received a team-high 21 points from KZ Okpala, who torched California with a career-high 30-point outing last month in Berkeley.
Meanwhile, Josh Sharma did not disappoint on Senior Night, notching his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Cardinal owned a 46-38 rebounding edge, with Bryce Wills contributing nine boards and Okpala adding eight. Of Stanford's 46 rebounds, 32 came on the defensive glass.
California (8-22, 3-15 Pac-12), which was led by Vanover's game-high 24 points, finished 8-18 from beyond the arc while Stanford was hindered by a 4-28 clip and missed its first 21 attempts from deep.
The Golden Bears raced out to an early lead, moving ahead 24-5 midway through the first half. The Cardinal trimmed the lead to 10 twice in the last two minutes but was unable to close the gap.
Stanford next travels to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament, which gets underway on Wednesday, March 13. The Cardinal's seeding will be determined once all games are completed Saturday night.