January 9, 1999

STANFORD - Stanford guard Kris Weems scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half to pace a second half charge and lead the fourth-ranked Cardinal to a 71-62 victory over No. 25 California Saturday at Maples Pavilion.

Cal fell to 10-3 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-10, while Stanford won its fourth straight game over the Bears to improve to 13-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

The two teams stayed close throughout the first half with seven lead changes and six ties. Senior guard Thomas Kilgore, who matched a career high with 21 points, scored 12 of his points in the first half as the Bears forged a 30-28 lead at the break.

After intermission, Cal scored the first basket on a Mike Gill layup, but a pair of Tim Young free throws and a three-pointer by Weems gave Stanford a 33-32 advantage and the Cardinal would not trail again.

Stanford ran its lead to 46-38 with 12:42 left before Cal cut it to 46-41 on Kilgore's driving layup. The Cardinal again pushed ahead, this time 60-47, when the Bears scored six straight points to pull within, 60-53. However, Weems hit another three-pointer for a double-digit lead and the Cardinal were not seriously threatened the rest of the way.

"I thought our post players did a good job on the inside," Cal head coach Ben Braun said. "But Stanford can beat you inside or outside, and tonight, their perimeter game hurt us."

The Bears did become just the third team to outrebound Stanford this season, pulling down 34 boards to the Cardinal's 33. But Cal went just 8-for-19 from the free throw line in the second half, and Stanford made 54.3 percent of its field goal attempts, including 4-of-8 from three-point range.

The road doesn't get any easier for Cal, as the Bears travel to No. 7 UCLA Thursday and USC Saturday before finally returning home to host Washington Jan. 21 at the Oakland Arena.