With Cal on the verge of elimination from the Pac-12 tournament and perhaps the NCAA bubble popping, Jorge Gutierrez showed why he was the Pac-12 player of the year and summoned a great second half performance to put the Golden Bears in good shape for an at-large NCAA bid.
After only managing 23 first half points, Cal exploded for 54 points in the second. Gutierrez was the engine, scoring 20 of his 22 points in the second half while also dishing seven assists and grabbing six rebounds. Harper Kamp added 17 points and seven rebounds, Justin Cobbs put in 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Allen Crabbe had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Andrew Zimmerman had a career night for Stanford with 22 points and Chasson Randle added 19 points, but no other Cardinal players hit double digits as Stanford shot only 37% from the field compared to 52% from Cal.
Cal moves onto face the winner of Oregon and Colorado in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament on Friday night.
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