Pickens on point to help Cardinal hold off Bears
Senior handles Cal’s pressure down stretch and seals win with free throws
BERKELEY >> Dorian Pickens says he has played point guard “here and there” throughout his basketball career. Stanford is now asking its senior shooting guard to fill in as the backup floor leader, and he delivered
Sunday in his final regular-season game against rival Cal.
Pickens made two free throws with 8.7 seconds left and handled Cal’s pressure defense after starter Daejon
Davis fouled out with 2:11 left as Stanford escaped with a 77-73 victory over the Bears in front of 8,482 fans at Haas Pavilion.
“Daejon said he was tired so he wanted to foul
out,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase joked. “We had to lean heavily on Dorian. I can’t sit here and say it was picture perfect, but at the end we made enough plays.
“Dorian really wanted the basketball and made those two free throws. That’s what seniors do.”
Stanford (14-13, 8-6) moved into a tie for fifth place with Washington by avenging a loss in their Pac12 opener nearly two months ago. The Bears rallied from 16 points down with 8 minutes left to win at Maples Pavilion, but Stanford prevailed this time even as the Bears fought back from an eight-point hole with barely 6 minutes left.
The Bears (8-19, 2-12) lost for the 12th time in 13 games, and dropped into a tie for last place with Washington State. The Cougars visit Berkeley on Thursday.
“I’m really happy with our guys’ effort tonight,” Cal first-year coach Wyking Jones said. “From start to finish they gave us tremendous effort and played with a lot of energy and passion, especially on the defensive end. And we fought.”
The Bears certainly got the attention of Stanford, which turned the ball over 16 times and never could put the game out of reach.
“I have a lot of respect for what their team has done and what coach Jones has done,” Haase said. “I know it hasn’t been the easiest stretch. But they have been competing. Today I thought they played extremely hard, but I’m proud of our guys, too.”
Davis, the Cardinal’s freshman starter, had 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists but also seven turnovers. He was the best player on the floor much of the game, but when he fouled out with Stanford nursing a three-point lead, Pickens had to step up.
“We all trust Dorian,” Davis said. “I have full confidence Dorian will finish the game just as well I could, and obviously he did.”
Pickens, who missed 11 games early in the season with a foot injury, had backup point guard duties added to his role early in the Pac-12 schedule.
“They have so much confidence in me to lead he team and control the ball,” said Pickens, who scored 17 points. “When he made that change, it was a smooth transition. I’m still working every day to improve on it.”
Stanford led 10-2 out of the gate, but Cal’s press changed the game’s tone.
“That’s pretty much how we’ve always wanted to play all year, to be able to speed teams up and make them uncomfortable,” Jones said.
Don Coleman came off the bench to provide energy and a team-best 17 points. Justice Sueing and Marcus Lee added 15 each for the Bears and Juhwan Harris-Dyson scored 13 before fouling out.
But Stanford changed defenses after one possession in the second half, and the Bears struggled to attack the zone, finishing the game 3 for 18 from the 3-point arc.
“They pretty much dared us to shoot the ball,” Jones said.
The Cardinal got contributions from a variety of sources.
“Daejon played incredible,” Pickens said.
Reid Travis added 13 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth doubledouble of the season and Michael Humphrey contributed 11 points and seven rebounds before fouling out.