Stanford's 2nd Half Touch Beats Cal

Arthur Lee and Kris Weems found their shooting touch just in time to rescue Stanford.

After the Cardinal went 0-for-7 from 3-point range in the first half, Lee and Weems combined to go 6-for-6 in the second half as No. 9 Stanford rebounded from consecutive losses to beat California 74-72 Wednesday night.

"I think we played harder and with more resolve in the second half," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. "We finally got some open 3s and that's all you can ask of this team, to give them an opportunity to make a 3 without having to go 1-on-1."

Lee, who finished with 17 points, hit all four of his 3-point tries in the second half and Weems made both of his.

"I think it was a case of Stanford making the big plays down the stretch," Cal coach Ben Braun said. "The thing about the game, though, is our guys played awfully hard. Stanford is a veteran ballclub but our guys battled and battled."

Tim Young had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Stanford (19-2, 8-2 Pac-10), which remained unbeaten in seven road games. Weems added 16 points, including four free throws over the last 26 seconds as Stanford, which lost consecutive home games to No. 4 Arizona and Arizona State last week, survived a season-high 21 turnovers to complete a season sweep of Cal (8-10, 4-6).

Geno Carlisle had 25 points for Cal, while Thomas Kilgore added 13 and Raymond King 11.

The win was even more important for Stanford since its next two games are on the road -- at No. 7 Connecticut on Saturday and at No. 6 UCLA on Feb. 12.

"It's not just another win. It's a big win," Lee said. "Granted, this is a tough road stretch and before it we went out and lost two at home. What does that mean? Go on the road and play better. We've got those bad games behind us and now we've got to win. From here on, we have to escalate."

The Cardinal, down by five points at halftime, took their first lead since the game's initial minutes when Pete Van Elswyk made one of two free throws for a 52-51 lead with 6:19 left.

The teams traded baskets down the stretch with Cal going in front 62-60 on Carlisle's bank shot with 2:29 remaining.

Lee answered with a 3-pointer, was fouled, and converted the free throw for a four-point play and a 64-62 Stanford lead.

The Cardinals didn't trail after that, getting another 3-pointer from Lee for a 67-64 lead with a minute remaining after Carlisle made a 10-foot jumper to tie it.

Stanford held off Cal by making seven of eight free throws over the final 40 seconds and also converted all six of its 3-point attempts in the second half after missing seven in the opening half.

Kilgore connected on a 3-pointer with 14:08 remaining, boosting Cal's lead to 43-35. But just when Cal was threatening to break it open Stanford got successive 3-pointers from Lee to pull to 43-41 with 13:15 remaining. Another 3-pointer, this one by Weems, pulled the Cardinal into a tie at 49.

Stanford had 13 turnovers by halftime, matching its average for a game. Carlisle scored 16 points in the first half.

After a layup by Kamba Tshionyi tied it at 26-all, Cal pulled ahead with a 10-5 burst over the final five minutes of the period.

Gill had a 3-pointer for Cal in that span and center Kenyon Jones picked off a pass from Tshionyi and drove the length of the court, muscling in a layup despite being fouled and then making the free throw for a three-point play.

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