STANFORD - The No. 1 California men's water polo team split the final day of regular season action at Stanford on Sunday, defeating No. 2 UCLA 16-15 in overtime before falling to No. 3 Stanford, 17-10. The Bears finish the regular season with a 7-3 record, the best of any team in the MPSF.

MATCH 1: No. 1 California 16, No. 2 UCLA 15
The Bruins got out to an early lead in the first match of the day, entering halftime with an 11-8 lead.

The Bears tied things up early in the third quarter and subsequently pulled ahead thanks to back-to-back goals from Nikolaos Papanikolaou and Jack Deely. But the Bruins tied things up with five seconds remaining in regulation to send it to overtime. Deely and Loth each scored once in overtime to secure the win for the Bears, their second overtime win over the Bruins this season.

Deely led the Bears in scoring with five goals and freshman Alika Naone scored three and added two assists to finish with five points. Team captain Nikos Delagrammatikas scored three goals and had one assist, recording a season-high four points and his second hat trick of the season.

MATCH 2: No. 1 California 10, No. 3 Stanford 17
In the second match of the day, the Cardinal got out to an early lead and did not relinquish it for the rest of the match. After Stanford ended the first half with a 12-6 lead, the Bears made a switch in the cage, going with goalkeeper Anthony Rethans in the second half. Rethans and the California defense held the Cardinal to just five goals in the second half, but the Bears' offense could not make up the deficit.

Freshman George Avakian scored twice in the match, his first multi-goal performance since the season opener vs. UCLA. Mateus Stellet scored his first goal of the season and had an assist, finishing with two points. 

Next up, the Bears head down to UCLA for the MPSF Championship March 5-7. After finishing with the best regular season record in the conference, the Bears will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Fans can follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWaterPolo) and Instagram (@CalMWaterPolo), where updates about the schedule will be posted when available.