Jan 5, 2003

Final Stats

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

BERKELEY, Calif. - Joe Shipp had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Brian Wethers added 16 points as California made two big rallies in the second half to beat Stanford 72-59 Saturday night in the Pac-10 opener for both schools.

Amit Tamir scored 11 points for the Golden Bears (8-2), who pulled away late in their second straight win over their archrivals. Cal snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Cardinal last season - its longest losing streak in a rivalry dating to 1911.

Shipp, the Bears' senior scoring leader, had 12 points in the second half as Cal broke open a close game in the final 12 minutes with an impressive series of plays on both ends. Stanford (9-4) managed just two field goals in an eight-minute stretch as the Bears remained unbeaten at home this season.

Josh Childress had 15 points for the Cardinal, whose four-game winning streak was snapped. Julius Barnes had 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting, and Rob Little added 12 points and seven rebounds before fouling out.

In their 240th meeting, Cal and Stanford played a remarkably even game until the final minutes. Neither team led by more than seven points in the first half.

But Cal made a 12-2 run midway through the second half, beginning and ending on big baskets by freshman center David Paris, the son of former NFL lineman Bubba Paris.

The Bears stretched their lead to 60-47 before Stanford made a 10-2 run of its own, but Cal closed the game with a 10-2 run. Freshman guard Richard Midgley, making his second career start, made a beautiful bounce pass through traffic for Wethers' rally-capping layup.

With former Cal stars Sean Marks, Sean Lampley and Al Grigsby in attendance, Haas Pavilion was sold out for the first time this season with 11,877 noisy fans. Cal is 6-0 at home this season and 37-4 over the past three.

At the first timeout, Cal students paraded the Axe through Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears reclaimed the coveted football trophy with their victory over Stanford in the 105th Big Game six weeks earlier.

Cal head coach Ben Braun postgame quotes --

"It's not a matter of who we play, but the key is playing well and playing up to our standards. We did that tonight. I think when we play well, we can be a pretty good team, but it's definitely not easy."

"We did a great job of rebounding the ball tonight. Stanford annually outrebounds their opponents, but we took a big step by outrebounding them by nine and only turning the ball over six times. That's what you have to do to beat a team like Stanford."

"Brian Wethers and Joe Shipp stepped it up tonight and their intensity level was phenomenal. When these guys play at that level we're a better team. We can't afford to let opportunities slip away and our effort was very good today."

"David Paris was a force. He worked really hard tonight. He has a nice touch and he takes his time with the ball. David's a competitor, he knows what it's like to win and he stepped into the fire and was ready. We sure needed him tonight."

"We turned up the heat a little bit and if we can continue to play with that type of intensity, we'll do all right in this league."