Pac-12 roundup: Cal snaps skid against rival Cardinal
Jordan Mathews scored 18 points, Jaylen Brown added 16 and California ended a four-game losing streak to Stanford, beating the Cardinal 76-61 Saturday in Berkeley, California.
Kameron Rooks had career highs of 11 points and 12 rebounds, his first career double-double, for the Bears (15-8, 5-5), who remain perfect at home (14-0) and extended their home winning streak to 15, matching the third-longest in school history.
Jabari Bird had 13 points and Ivan Rabb scored 10 to go with eight rebounds. Sam Singer had nine assists.
Rosco Allen scored 16 and Dorian Pickens added 10 points for the Cardinal (11-10, 4-6), who lost their third straight and fourth in the last five overall.
Mathews was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and is within nine of reaching fourth all-time on the Bears list. The junior guard currently ranks third all-time with his .425 success rate.
Bird’s dazzling drive to the basket less than four minutes into the second half put Cal ahead 52-31 and forced the Cardinal into a timeout.
Stanford didn’t get much closer the rest of the way. The Bears led by as many as 26.
Brown also produced a highlight moment with 4:40 left, driving hard to the basket and somehow getting the ball to go in despite being mauled on the play.
Stanford scored the game’s first six points and then missed six straight shots. Cal had two 9-0 runs in the first half and opened a double-digit advantage with 6:31 remaining.
The Bears, who shot 53 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, took advantage of their quickness, drawing 15 fouls and turning them into 16 made free throws.
The Cardinal were 2 of 6 from the foul line and shot 33 percent from the field.
Rooks converted an offensive rebound into a layup in the final three seconds to give the Bears a 41-25 halftime edge.
Oregon State 60, Colorado 56:
Gary Payton II had 17 points with seven steals and the Beavers defeated the Buffaloes in Corvallis, Oregon.
Stephen Thompson Jr. added 14 points off the bench, and clutch free throws for the second game in a row, for the Oregon State (14-8, 5-6).
Tre’Shaun Fletcher scored 15 second-half points and Wesley Gordon added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Colorado (17-7, 6-5).
The game was tied at 55 with about a minute left when Josh Fortune missed a lay-in for Colorado. Thompson was fouled on a drive on Oregon State’s next possession and sank both free throws with 28.3 seconds remaining.
With 14.8 seconds left, George King was fouled on a shot for the Buffaloes but made only one.
Thompson was fouled again and made one of two free throws, but Payton grabbed the offensive board and was fouled with 11.2 seconds left. His two free throws sealed the game.