STANFORD — One amazing comeback deserves another.
In its first game since blowing a 17-point lead in the final 7 ½ minutes against rival Cal, the Stanford men’s basketball team fought back from a 12-point deficit in the final 5:48 of regulation and beat UCLA 107-99 in double-overtime Thursday night at a frenzied Maples Pavilion.
Freshman Daejon Davis made a crucial runner with 34.2 seconds left to effectively seal it.
Davis finished with 22 points, while senior Dorian Pickens added 26 — including a dramatic three-pointer with 5 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.
The Cardinal seemed to have it won then..
Stanford’s Kezie Okpala threw down a dunk with 32 seconds left in that first overtime, and Oscar Da Silva swatted away a potential game-tying shot by UCLA’s Aaron Holiday with 5 seconds left. Okpala’s free throw made it 94-91, but Holliday drilled a three-pointer at the horn to force the second overtime.
But finally, the Cardinal pulled it out.
Stanford (7-8, 1-1) held UCLA (11-4, 2-1) scoreless in the final 2:45, and celebrating a much-needed victory over a heralded team after such a dispiriting loss.
Reid Travis added 18 points for the Cardinal, and Michael Humphrey had 14, including a crucial blocked shot near the end of regulation. Okpala finished with 13 points after a miserable start. All three of them were on the bench at the end, leading cheers after fouling out.
In the space of five minutes late in regulation, the Cardinal cut a 12-point deficit to one, trailing 83-82 after Da Silva scored a layup with 46 seconds left.
But Holiday, who led all scorers with 31 points, drove for a layup with 24.5 seconds left to restore a three-point UCLA lead. When Davis missed two free throws, the Bruins had a chance to put the game away. But UCLA’s Price Ali missed two free throws of his own, and Pickens buried his three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
The Bruins came in riding a four-game winning streak, a month after their high-profile split with freshman LiAngelo Ball, with one of the wins coming against then No. 7 Kentucky.
But they were hardly unstoppable — although they were frequently amazing.
Holiday and Kris Wilkes combined for 49 points for the Bruins, and forward Gyorgy Goloman added 14 points. The Cardinal trailed by just one point early in the second half, before Travis sat down in foul trouble and Holiday and Wilkes erupted, largely with lethal moves to the hoop.
The duo scored 18 of the next 21 points for UCLA, and the Cardinal appeared doomed.
By the time Travis returned, the Cardinal were down 10 and the Bruins were in a groove.
Stanford used an exciting 9-0 run to cut the lead to 80-77 with 3:34 left, when Humphrey swatted a shot against the backboard and ignited a fast break that ended with Davis’ lay-up that ignited the crowd.
The Cardinal missed their first eight shots and strained early to get inside against the Bruins’ size, but wound up shooting 51 percent.
