CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Two of the ACC’s newcomers showed the rest of the league how it’s done.
Rivals Cal and Stanford staged an East Coast rendition of the Big Game and turned in the most entertaining, well-played contest at this year’s ACC tournament to date.
Maxime Raynaud scored 23 points and Jaylen Blakes added 21 as the Cardinal outlasted the Bears 78-73 in the second round Wednesday at the Spectrum Center.
Cal center Mady Sissoko grabs a rebound in front of Stanford’s Maxime Rynaud during a second-round Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament game in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday night. (Allie Lawhon — ACC)
Stanford (20-12) faces second-seeded Louisville (25-6) in the quarterfinals Thursday with a chance to improve its outside shot at an NCAA tournament at-large bid. Stanford has been on the road for nearly two weeks, capping the regular season with a trip that included a 68-48 loss at Louisville on Saturday.
Andrej Stojakovic scored 37 points for Cal, which also ended the regular-season with a trip to Louisville and Notre Dame but also had played six combined overtimes in its previous two games. The Bears, who debuted at the ACC tournament less than 24 hours earlier with a double-OT upset of 10th-seeded Virginia Tech, also was without two starters.
The Bears figured to be running on fumes against Stanford. Instead, Cal pushed its rival to the limits in a back-and-forth contest that was tied with 1:51 to play.
Cal played without two-thirds of its starting backcourt, freshman star Jeremiah Wilkinson (concussion) and fellow guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. (undisclosed injury). Both played Tuesday against Virginia Tech.
