STANFORD, Calif. — California already staged the big celebration, cutting down the nets and dancing in the confetti after clinching at least a share of its first conference title in 50 years.
The Golden Bears were in no mood to share that title.
Patrick Christopher scored 23 points to help Cal win the outright Pac-10 title with a 71-61 victory over Stanford on Saturday.
“We didn’t want to share a championship,” Christopher said. “We knew a lot was at stake. We didn’t want to get complacent at all as far as winning at home and the confetti and all that stuff. We still had to remain focused.”
Cal clinched at least a share of the title and the top seed in the Pac-10 tournament by beating Arizona State last weekend on senior day. When Arizona State finished its regular season with a 56-46 victory over UCLA that ended just before tipoff at Maples Pavilion, Cal knew it needed a win against its rivals to finish alone in first.
They did just that, never trailing for the final 36 minutes of the game to post their first four-game winning streak of the season.
“It’s fun to win championships,” coach Mike Montgomery said. “It’s fun for the kids. It’s something they will remember for a long, long time. If you share it, you’ll get the ‘yeah, buts.’ I don’t want any ‘yeah, buts.’ I just want, ‘This is it, we won, it’s over and now we go on to the next thing.’ “
Jamal Boykin added 13 points for the Golden Bears (21-9, 13-5), who swept the season series from their Bay area rivals for the first time since 1992-93 by winning at Maples Pavilion for just the second time in 17 trips.
Landry Fields had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Cardinal (13-17, 7-11), who lost their final four home games of the regular season. Stanford will finish tied for eighth place in the Pac-10 and needs an Oregon victory against Washington State later Saturday to avoid Wednesday’s play-in game in the conference tournament.
Stanford trailed by 12 points in the first half but fought back to tie the game at 44-44 early in the second on a dunk by Jack Trotter. The Cardinal never took the lead in the second half.
A three-point play by Theo Robertson sparked a 9-2 run that but Cal back in front. Christopher, playing in his school-record 129th game, hit three straight baskets to help the Bears maintain the lead, but Stanford cut it to 62-59 on a floater by Fields with 3:14 to go. Boykin then scored on a putback to make it a five-point game.
“They kept getting second-chance opportunities,” Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. “Those are tough blows. You play defense, you have a great possession and you don’t close it out with a rebound. That’s something we have to continue to work on.”
After a steal by Christopher, he hit a 3-pointer at the other end to put Cal on top 67-59 with 1:37 to go. That started the celebration from the small but vocal contingent of Bears fans who made the drive to Stanford.
Making matters worse for Stanford fans is the fact that the Cardinal’s former coach led Cal to the title. Montgomery won four conference championships in 18 seasons on The Farm before leaving for the NBA in 2004. He returned to the college game last season and quickly built Cal into a champion.
“I know he wanted to win,” guard Jerome Randle said. “I’m just glad we came in and did what we needed to do. We needed it for ourselves but I know it means a lot to him come in and get this win. We did it for coach and we did it for ourselves.”
An intriguing subplot to the game was the competition between Fields and Randle for the conference player of the year award. Fields got the best of Randle this game, with Randle being held to 11 points on 2-for-10 shooting. But Cal’s outright title might be enough to give Randle the award.
“That stuff is not in my control,” Fields said. “I’m just going to go out and play. If I had a vote, it would be for Randle. He’s one of the top players on the top team. I don’t see why he would not get it.”
Randle said he would give the nod to Fields.
Cal took nearly three minutes to get on the scoreboard but then scored nine straight points. The Bears extended their lead to 34-22 on a basket by Boykin with 4:12 remaining in the half. But Stanford scored the final eight points, including six by Fields, to cut it to 34-30 at the break.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
