Page One

STANFORD – Although the gap is closing, top-ranked Stanford still has it all over archrival California. 

Casey Jacobsen hit three 3-pointers and scored 19 points, and Jarron Collins had 18 points and six rebounds as Stanford beat Cal 84-58 Wednesday night to remain unbeaten. 

The Cardinal (16-0, 5-0 Pac-10) weren’t really threatened while beating the Golden Bears for a school-record eighth straight time, but the rivalry isn’t nearly as one-sided as it was in recent years. 

Cal (11-5, 3-2), which lost for just the second time in 12 games, stayed with the Cardinal until the second half, when Jacobsen’s outside bombs and the inside play of twins Jarron and Jason Collins became too much. 

Jason Collins had 15 points for the Cardinal, who put the game away with a 16-2 run that gave them a 26-point lead midway through the second half. Still, Solomon Hughes led a late 14-6 Cal run that forced Stanford coach Mike Montgomery to re-insert his starters in the final minutes. 

Brian Wethers had 18 points and Sean Lampley added 14 for the Bears, who looked nothing like the team that lost 101-50 to the Cardinal last season at Maples Pavilion – Stanford’s biggest win in the rivalry’s history. 

Stanford moved within two victories of matching the best start in school history and won its third straight since taking over the nation’s top ranking. The Cardinal and No. 9 Georgetown (16-0) are the only remaining undefeated Division I teams. 

Stanford’s normally staid home court had plenty of energy for the 233rd meeting between the Bay area rivals. Cal’s band was crammed into the back rows of one corner of the small gym, and Stanford students paraded the Axe – won by the Cardinal in the schools’ annual football matchup – during the first half. 

The teams were caught up in the intensity as well. The officials called needless technical fouls on Jarron Collins and Cal’s Dennis Gates after the two collided and exchanged harsh words in the first half, and Ryan Mendez exchanged shoves with Joe Shipp moments later. 

The always-entertaining Stanford student body was in top form, ragging Cal with chants of “NIT!” and “Cal needs Marsha!” moments after a woman named Marsha made three straight 3-pointers to win $1,000 in a school promotion. 

Both teams play host to non-conference opponents on Saturday. New Mexico visits Stanford, while South Florida goes to Berkeley.