Cal battled back from 17 points down with 11 1/2 minutes left at Stanford and tied the game at 61-all when Andrej Stojakovic, in his return game to Maples Pavilion, converted a drive and free throw with 42.1 seconds left.
The comeback died there.
Stanford center Maxime Raynaud made two free throws with 32.6 seconds left to break the tie and the Cardinal scored the game’s final five points to secure a 66-61 victory.
“I was proud of how we competed, especially in the last 15 minutes,” Cal coach Mark Madsen said. “We’re very disappointed with the outcome. Stanford outplayed us. They made the plays that needed to be made to win.”
Stojakovic, who played his freshman year at Stanford before transferring to Cal last offseason, scored nine of his 16 points during the rally. Freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson saved 13 of his 19 for the comeback try.
“It’s frustrating digging a hole for ourselves like that in the first half,” Stojakovic said. “Don’t get me wrong: I’m so proud of the guys, the way we handled the last 17 minutes.”
Cal (12-15, 5-11 ACC) lost its fourth straight game and suddenly faces some urgency in order to secure qualification for the ACC tournament. The Bears are tied for 14th place and only 15 teams earn spots in the ACC bracket.
Boston College and North Carolina State both won Saturday, improving to 4-12 in conference play, just one game back of the Bears with four to play. Cal already has a win over NC State so it owns that potential tiebreaker. Boston College visits Berkeley next Saturday in a game that could have huge consequences.
“The main thing is just defend our home court,” Stojakovic said. “We don’t have any incentive besides winning. Take care of home, one game at a time. We have a hard road trip to end the year and then get ready for the ACC tournament.”
Cal hosts SMU next Wednesday before playing BC three days later. The Bears close out the regular season with road games vs. Louisville and Notre Dame.
Down 47-30 after Aidan Cammann scored a layup with 11:24 to play, Cal switched its defense to a full-court press, hoping to knock Stanford (17-10, 9-7) off its rhythm.
“We used multiple different presses. It changed the complexion of the game,” Madsen said. “We did a nice job of attacking the rim — a couple of their guys fouled out. But give Stanford credit. They made all the plays when it counted.”
In particular, the 7-foot-1 Raynaud delivered at big moments and scored 20 points, even as the Bears often used a double-team to limit him to 5-for-16 shooting.
“He absolutely killed us at our place. We made a few tweaks and adjustments defensively that just changed the rhythm,” Madsen said. “It’s a compliment to him that every team that plays Stanford really has to look at Raynaud.”
Wilkinson shot just 6 for 16 but added six rebounds and five steals. He drew 10 fouls, which contributed to Stanford point guards Jaylen Blakes and Benny Gealer both fouling out.
Stojakovic, who shot 4 for 11, grabbed 10 rebounds.
He said this game didn’t feel as emotional as his first game against his former team. “This time around, having seen the guys once already, it was a pretty normal away game,” he said, just as Raynaud, his former teammate, walked past and gave him a friendly kiss on the back of his neck.
Cal jumped out to a 7-0 lead after 3 1/2 minutes but Stanford controlled much of the rest of the first half on the way to a 28-22 lead at the break.
The Bears struggled to find good shots and were 4 for 22 (18.2 percent) through the game’s first 14 minutes. With 3 minutes left in the half, Cal still had more turnovers (8) than baskets (6).
Even so, Cal led until Chisom Okpara stole and ball and raced for a layup and an 11-10 lead with 10:33 left. Raynaud gave the Cardinal a little breathing room when he hit a 3-pointer 45 seconds later.
Stanford’s advantage reached 28-18 when Raynaud buried another 3-pointer with 1:01 left in the half.
A driving layup by Stojakovic and a dunk by Lee Dort on an inbounds pass from DJ Campbell with 2 seconds left got the Bears within six points before intermission.
Cal finished the first half at 31 percent (9 for 29) from the field, 1 for 6 from the 3-point arc and 3 for 7 from the free throw line. The Bears’ only tangible advantage in the half was their 24-17 rebounding edge. They finished with a 42-35 rebounding margin.
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