Mathews, Brown Lead California Past Stanford 76-61
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- Kameron Rooks can finally say he's back on track. After missing a year to a knee injury, the redshirt sophomore put together a complete game, recording his first career double-double.
Rooks had career highs of 11 points and 12 rebounds, Jordan Mathews scored 18 points and California ended a four-game losing streak to Stanford, beating the Cardinal 76-61 Saturday.
"He's one of those guys who has to change shirts during practice because of all the hard work he puts in," Cal coach Cuonzo Martin said. "You like to see guys play well, especially coming off an injury."
Rooks has been solid defensively all year and has recently made his presence felt on the boards. He added offense against the Cardinal.
"I'm just playing as hard as I can, crashing the glass and taking care of my defense," Rooks said.
Jaylen Brown added 16 points for the Bears (15-8, 5-5 Pac-12), who remain perfect at home (14-0) and extended their home winning streak to 15, matching the third-longest in school history. Jabari Bird had 13 points and Ivan Rabb scored 10 to go with eight rebounds. Sam Singer had nine assists.
"Rooks stepped up and gave them a lift," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. "He imposed his will down there."
Rosco Allen scored 16 and Dorian Pickens added 10 points for the Cardinal (11-10, 4-6), who lost their third straight and fourth in the last five overall.
"We have to be better defensively," Dawkins said. "We need to focus in on that end of the court."
Mathews was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and is within nine of reaching fourth all-time on the Bears list. The junior guard currently ranks third all-time with his .425 success rate.
"We weren't really aggressive the last time we played them," Mathews said. "This time we were, getting the ball inside where all our bigs played well."
Bird's dazzling drive to the basket less than four minutes into the second half put Cal ahead 52-31 and forced the Cardinal into a timeout.
Stanford didn't get much closer the rest of the way. The Bears led by as many as 26.
Brown also produced a highlight moment with 4:40 left, driving hard to the basket and somehow getting the ball to go in despite being mauled on the play.
Stanford scored the game's first six points and then missed six straight shots. Cal had two 9-0 runs in the first half and opened a double-digit advantage with 6:31 remaining.
The Bears, who shot 53 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, took advantage of their quickness, drawing 15 fouls and turning them into 16 made free throws.
The Cardinal were 2 of 6 from the foul line and shot 33 percent from the field in the half.
Rooks converted an offensive rebound into a layup in the final three seconds to give the Bears a 41-25 halftime edge.
TIP INS:
Stanford: After allowing 78 points or fewer in 15 straight games, the Cardinal allowed 91 and 95 points in successive games entering play Saturday. ... Sophomore forward Reid Travis, the Cardinal's leading rebounder, has missed the past 13 games with a stress reaction in his left leg.
California: Freshman Jaylen Brown and Cardinal freshman Marcus Sheffield were teammates on an Atlanta-based AAU club team, Game Elite, the last six years. ... Senior Tyrone Wallace, the team's leader in assists and second in scoring, missed his fifth game with a broken bone in his right wrist.
