Cal-Stanford Basketball Live Game Thread: Bears Lose 5th Straight

Golden Bears lose despite 24 points by Matt Bradley

Cal suffered its fifth straight loss – the Bears longest losing streak of the season – as Stanford defeated the Bears 70-55 on Thursday night in Berkeley.

Oscar da Silva led Stanford with 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Jaiden Delaire added 14 points for the Cardinal, which shot 54.2 percent from the field. Matt Bradley led the Bears with 24 points while going 5-for-7 on three-pointers. Andre Kelly added 15 points.

The Bears (7-13, 2-11 Pac-12) trailed by 13 at halftime, and Stanford (11-7, 7-5) won despite being without three starters (Daejon Davis, Bryce Wills, Ziaire Williams) for the fifth straight game.

The Cardinal and Cal play each other again on Sunday night at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.

Pregame: Both teams came into Thursday's game on losing streaks. Cal (7-12, 2-10 Pac-12 before Thursday's game) was riding a four-game losing streak, matching its longest losing streak of the season.  Stanford (10-7, 6-5 before Thursday) had lost its last two games and was in last place in the conference.

The Cardinal played their previous four games without three starters -- Daejon Davis, Bryce Wills and Ziaire William.  None of those three players played Thursday either, making it five straight games the Cardinal has been without those three.

But Stanford still had Oscar da Silva, who entered Thursday's game averaging 18.9 points, best in the Pac-12. The Cardinal is on the fringe of earning a berth in the NCAA tournament. Both CBS Sports and ESPN had the Cardinal into their projected 68-tam fields, but both had the Cardinal has one of the last four teams in.

Cal's top scorer is Matt Bradley, whose 18.2 points per game rank fourth in the Pac-12. He scored 21 points in the Bears' most recent game, a 71-50 loss to Arizona. 

Joel Brown had a false positive test for COVID-19 earlier this week, but he was cleared in time to play Thursday.

STARTING LINEUPS:

Cal -- F Grant Anticevich, G Ryan Betley, F Andre Kelly, G Matt Bradley, G Makale Foreman

Stanford -- F Oscar da Silva, F Jaiden Delaire, F Spencer Jones, G Michael O'Connell, F Lukas Kisumas

GAME ACTION:

15:28 left first half: Oscar da Silva scores the first four points of the game, but Makale Foreman hits a bucket for Cal. After Jaiden Delaire hits a three-pointer for Stanford, Matt Bradley responds with a three-pointer for the Bears. Stanford 7, Cal 5.

 11:30 first half: Stanford point guard Michael O'Connell picks up his second personal foul with 13:54 left and takes a seat. Da Silva has six points for Stanford, and Bradley has five for the Bears. Ryan Betley's three-pointer ties the game. Stanford 13, Cal 13.

8:48 first half: Cal takes a three-point lead on a Bradley three-pointer, but Stanford reels off eight straight points. Stanford 21, Cal 16. 

5:31 first half: Stanford leads by as many as eight points and settles for a seven-point lead. Bradley has 11 points for Cal, and da Silva has 10 for the Cardinal. Bradley is 3-for-3 on three-point shots. Stanford has made 12-of-18 shots. Delaire has nine points for Stanford. Stanford 30, Cal 23.

2:41 first half: Stanford goes ahead by nine points, 32-23, on a da Silva bucket, but Cal gets back in the game and gets the margin down to five on Andre Kelly's inside basket. Da Silva has 12 points. Stanford 34, Cal. 29.

23 seconds, first half: Stanford scores eight straight points. Stanford 42, Cal 29.

Halftime: Stanford 42, Cal 29

Stanford shoots 60.7 percent from the field in the first half, and that includes misses on the Cardinal's final two field-goal attempts. Oscar da Silva leads all scorers with 14 points, while Matt Bradley has 11 for the Bears. Turnovers on consecutive possessions late in the first half led to Stanford runouts and easy buckets that expanded the Cardinal lead. Cal committed eight turnovers in the first half. The Cardinal scored the final eight points of the half.

15:57 second half: Cal cuts a 13-point halftime deficit to seven on a Joel Brown layup. Matt Bradley heads to the foul line for two shots as the teams break for a media timeout. But after a video review, the call was changed to an offensive foul on Bradley. Stanford 44, Cal 37.

11:58 second half: Cal got the deficit down to three points, 46-43, when Bradley converted a four-point play, but the Cardinal scored the next four points to push the margin back to seven. Bradley has 20 points, and da Silva has 18. Stanford 50, Cal 43.

7:49 second half: Cal has not scored a point in the last 6:53, helping Stanford take a sizable lead. A bucket by da Silva puts Stanford ahead by 12. Stanford 55, Cal 43.

6:41 second half: Four points by Andre Kelly end Cal's scoring drought. Stanford 55, Cal 47.

3:46 second half: Stanford matches its largest lead of the night as Jaiden Delaire hits a three-point shot to put the Cardinal up by 13. Da Silva and Bradley have 22 points each. Stanford 62, Cal 49.

Final: Stanford Cal 

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Cover photo of Oscar da Silva by Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports

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