Maxime Raynaud and Jaylen Blakes delivered in crunch time as No. 7 seed Stanford held off a career-best effort from Andrej Stojakovic to defeat No. 15 seed Cal 78-73 in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday night. The Cardinal (20-12) advances to face second-seeded Louisville in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Stanford’s victory came down to key late-game execution. With 1:21 left, Benny Gealer drilled a clutch three-pointer to break a 68-68 tie, giving Stanford a lead it never relinquished. Raynaud sealed the win at the free-throw line, knocking down two shots with five seconds left after Cal’s Mady Sissoko was whistled for a crucial blocking foul with 6.9 seconds remaining.
Raynaud led Stanford with 23 points, while Blakes added 21. Oziyah Sellers contributed 13 points, and reserve Chisom Okpara provided a key boost with 12 off the bench.
On the other side, Stojakovic put on a remarkable performance for Cal, scoring a career-high 37 points on 13-for-22 shooting, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. He made his first seven shots of the game and had 16 points at halftime. DJ Campbell chipped in with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears.
Cal started strong, with Sissoko’s dunk at the 5:17 mark of the first half putting the Bears ahead 30-25. However, Stanford closed the half on a 13-2 run to take a 38-32 lead into the break. While Cal had a slightly better first-half shooting percentage (56% to Stanford’s 53.8%), the Cardinal had the edge from deep, knocking down eight three-pointers compared to just two for the Bears.
The loss ends a grueling stretch for Cal, which had played six overtime periods in its last two games over a four-day span. The Bears were once again on the verge of pushing another contest to overtime, but Stanford’s poise down the stretch proved to be the difference.
Now, Stanford turns its focus to Louisville, with a chance to advance to the ACC semifinals on the line.
