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Lopez twins too much for Cal to handle

Jan 27, 2008 - 5:19 AM BERKELEY, California (Ticker) -- Brook Lopez got the better of his matchup with Ryan Anderson and, in turn, Stanford got the better of California.

Lopez scored 23 points and helped the 21st-ranked Cardinal bottle up Anderson in an 82-77 victory over the Golden Bears in a Pac-10 Conference matchup on Saturday.

Mitch Johnson also had a strong game for Stanford (16-3, 5-2 Pac-10) with 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Robin Lopez help his twin brother control the paint with nine points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Cardinal, who have won three straight.

"Another typical day in Pac-10 basketball," Stanford coach Trent Johnson said. "Cal really stretches you defensively; we knew that coming in. We got some major contributions off the bench. It was a great win for us. Cal was really good today. They played well defensively and made some tough shots."

The game was a disappointment for Anderson and it was fitting as California (11-7, 2-5) closed out a three-game homestand with its third loss in a row.

The Golden Bears had dropped consecutive contests to Arizona State and Arizona despite a combined 62 points from Anderson.

A 6-10 sophomore forward, Anderson came into the game leading the conference in scoring at 21.9 points per game and was averaging 26.3 points and 13.0 rebounds in his last 13 games.

He found it tougher going inside against the Lopez twins and finished with 11 points while shooting just 4-of-10 from the field.

"Ryan was the focal point for them (defensively). In those situations - whether it's Patrick, whether it's Ryan, whoever it is - there are going to be opportunities for other players to get some looks," Cal coach Ben Braun said. "Certainly, we wanted the ball in Ryan's hands. We went to him at the start of the game, we went to him in crunch time, but you know, getting the ball to rim and getting to the foul line didn't prove to be easy. Defensively, Stanford does a pretty good job in that area."

DeVon Hardin poured in 17 points for Cal, which has lost five of six overall. Patrick Christopher had 16 points, while Jamal Boykin added 14 and eight rebounds in defeat.

"DeVon really stepped up. He's been challenged by his coaches, by his teammates and by himself," Braun said. "He came up today, and you take away the fouls, I thought generally he did a pretty good job defensively and he really wanted the ball offensively, and worked as hard as I've seen him work in a while."

The Cardinal held a slim 31-30 lead at the break but opened the second half with a 10-4 run. After a spurt by Cal tied things at 48-48 with about 10 minutes to play, Stanford took over with a 10-3 run to take a 58-51 edge.

The Golden Bears could only get as close as four points the rest of the way.

"The tempo was to our liking," Johnson said. "We were patient offensively. Defensively, they were getting good shots. We get so many good contributions from everybody."