Stanford men beat Cal at home, 69-59 STANFORD 69, CAL 59

Thanks mainly to deadeye shooting from John Gage, Stanford had a 26-3 advantage over Cal in bench scoring Saturday.

The Cardinal also had a lopsided advantage at the foul line, shooting more than twice as many free throws as the Bears.

It added up to a badly needed 69-59 win for Stanford at Maples Pavilion. A fourth conference loss would have put the Cardinal in a very deep hole as they hit the road this week to Colorado and Utah.

Gage, a 6-10 junior known mainly for his long-range scoring, hadn't hit a three in the previous two games. He swished all four of his tries from beyond the arc and scored 14 points as Stanford (11-7, 2-3 Pac-12) dealt short-handed Cal (10-7, 2-3) its fourth loss in its past six games.

"I'd like to have 26 points off the bench," Bears coach Mike Montgomery said of his injury-depleted roster. "We can't make excuses, but we don't have a lot of flexibility."

Dwight Powell, who was 9-for-9 at the foul line, scored a game-high 17 points. Stanford made 25 of its 31 free throws, while Cal was only 11-for-15.

Stanford's Chasson Randle launches a second-half shot against Cal's Richard Solomon. Stanford's Chasson Randle launches a second-half shot against Cal's Richard Solomon. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 19 Caption Close Stanford men beat Cal at home, 69-59 1 / 19 Back to Gallery

"It's the way you're able to get the free throws," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. "Our kids did a good job of playing with aggression. I thought we attacked the basket well. We got the ball inside and put ourselves in a position to be fouled."

They also attacked the Pac-10's leading scorer, Allen Crabbe. With Andy Brown having the primary defensive responsibility, Stanford held Crabbe to 14 points, six under his average. He took just four shots in the first half and made one of them.

Neither team shot well. The Cardinal won despite shooting 36 percent and making one field goal in the final seven minutes. Cal shot 35 percent.

"We came out with a defensive-minded game and tried to be as tough as we can and make the plays down the stretch," Powell said.

It was a one-point game (43-42) with 13 minutes left. Stanford's Chasson Randle stole a pass and drove for a layup, Gage hit a three, and Powell sank two free throws for a 50-42 lead. Justin Cobbs (13 points) hit back-to-back shots to cut the lead to four, but Stanford steadily pulled away.

"Any time you play Cal it's always one of those grind-it-out games, where it's physical and guys are playing their hearts out," said Randle, who scored 15 points.

Cal's Richard Solomon committed an ill-advised foul as Powell prepared to launch a three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire. Powell sank all three foul shots, and Stanford led 57-47.

"I tried to get him off his feet with a pump fake," Powell said. "He's a great shot blocker, so I knew it would be a tricky shot. ... Fortunately for me, he jumped."

Josh Huestis grabbed 12 rebounds and hit a 17-footer for the only Stanford basket of the final seven minutes.

The game drew an announced crowd of 5,877, easily Stanford's best of the season. The crowd, however, fell short of the 5,931 at last weekend's women's game between the two schools.