California Golden Bears at Stanford Cardinal

Cal beats rival Stanford 69-62 in Pac-12 opener

Richard Solomon added 14 points and 13 rebounds to power the Golden Bears (10-4, 1-0 Pac-12) inside after Stanford big men Dwight Powell and Stefan Nastic fouled out in the final minutes.

Powell had 16 points and five rebounds, Chasson Randle scored 15 and Anthony Brown added 14 points as the Cardinal (9-4, 0-1) collapsed late.

In an otherwise statistically-balanced game, Cal hit 16 of 22 free throws (73 percent), while Stanford made just 10 of 20.

It was Cal's first victory at Maples Pavilion since March 6, 2010. Stanford swept last season's series for the first time since 2008.

Stanford scored six points on one possession late in the second half to retake the lead and seemingly seize the momentum in front of its home fans.

Brown made a 3-pointer, and officials called a flagrant foul on Jordan Matthews away from the ball. Powell made one of the free throws, and Randle added a layup to give the Cardinal a 55-54 lead with 5:44 remaining.

But after Stanford went ahead by two, Cobbs answered with a three-point play over Josh Huestis to put the Bears back in front. Wallace made 3 of 4 free throws over the next two possessions, and Cobbs hit a pull-up jumper to extend Cal's lead to 62-56.

Powell followed with a quick layup before Cobbs drove and dished to Solomon, who finished a dunk while getting fouled by Powell with 1:06 left. Powell fouled out on the play. Nastic, who had eight points and eight rebounds, had fouled out a few minutes earlier.

Neither team entered the game at full strength.

Stanford senior guard Aaron Bright is out for the season with a shoulder injury, and Cal will be without junior guard Ricky Kreklow (broken hand) for at least a few more weeks and freshman guard Jabari Bird (sprained ankle) for the immediate future.

Even before the injuries, both schools had played inconsistently in non-conference games.

Stanford won at then-No. 10 Connecticut, but lost at home to BYU and dropped neutral-site games to Michigan and Pittsburgh. Cal won its first five games before losing four of its last eight, including to Syracuse, which is now ranked second.

The topsy-turvy performances carried over into the start of Pac-12 play.

After Stanford surged ahead by eight in the opening minutes, the Bears put together a 22-8 spurt propelled by defense and transition baskets to go ahead 26-20. Cal also overcame foul trouble to starters Matthews and David Kravish to stay in front, creating turnovers to head into the half with 37-31 lead.

How can I watch California vs. Stanford?

• TV Channel: California at Stanford 2021 College Basketball, week 9, is broadcasted on FS1.
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