Men's college basketball: Cal tops Louisiana Tech; Stanford falls to St. Mary's

His injured toe no longer a concern, Cal's Ivan Rabb is proving that his decision to put off the NBA for at least one year was a good one.BIG PICTURELouisiana Tech: The Bulldogs showed some grit in taking the game to overtime after it looked like they were on the verge of being blown out early. Shooting 18 of 66 (27.3 percent) won't make it an easy pill to swallow, either. The good news is that the big three - McCree, Jacobi Boykins and Jean - continue to get to the basket fairly easily. The bad news is that redshirt senior Qiydar Davis might have suffered a season-ending knee injury.Cal: This is one that Martin can't be completely pleased with. The offense ran smoothly as long as Rabb was on the court but Cal went stagnant whenever he was on the bench. Rabb's performance is a good sign for the Bears because he'll be spending additional time in the post now that backup center Kameron Rooks is out for at least a month following arthroscopic surgery on his left knee earlier Wednesday. Okoroh will get extended minutes, too, until Rooks returns.UP NEXTLouisiana Tech: The Bulldogs return home to host Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday night.Cal: Hosts Alcorn State on Saturday before heading to Hawaii to play Princeton and Seton Hall in the Pearl Harbor Invitational.

The Golden Bears are certainly glad he stayed.

Rabb scored five of his career-high 25 points in overtime and Cal held on to beat Louisiana Tech 68-59 on Wednesday night.

All of Rabb's points in overtime came on free throws after the Golden Bears didn't go to the line at all in the second half. Rabb shot 9 of 12 and added a season-high 13 rebounds for his fourth consecutive double-double after missing two games with a toe injury.

"We're feeding him," Cal center Kingsley Okoroh said. "Last year we didn't look for him as much. This year we need him to score, we need him to step up. He's doing well what needs to be done."

Cal made only one basket in overtime - Grant Mullins' 3-pointer - but went 8 of 12 on free throws while holding Louisiana Tech to two points.

Rabb led the way in overtime but also gave the Bears a lift with 16 points in the first half. That was an emphasis after he got off to sluggish starts in the previous three games.

"My goal today was to put two halves together because every game it seemed like it's just been one half," Rabb said. "I wasn't thinking too much. I was just letting the game come to me and I think that really benefited us as a whole."

Kingsley Okoroh had nine points, 12 rebounds and matched his career-high with five blocks as Cal (5-1) extended its winning streak at Haas Pavilion to 24 - two shy off the school record and tied with Virginia for the sixth-longest active streak in the nation. Charlie Moore added 19 points.

Erik McCree had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Louisiana Tech (3-3) after going scoreless in the first half. Derric Jean added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

"We were right up there until the very end," Bulldogs coach Eric Konkol said. "We need to build on this so we aren't in the same situation again."

Cal fed off Rabb's fast start and held a nine-point lead with 2:13 left in the first half before Louisiana Tech scored seven straight to pull within 31-29 at halftime.

"I thought it would be, I didn't think it would be that tough," Bears coach Cuonzo Martin said. "They really made us work for shots. (Rabb) did a good job of staying aggressive, staying active, staying locked in."

St. Mary's 66, Stanford 51

Calvin Hermanson scored a career-high 25 points and knocked down a career-best seven 3-pointers, and No. 12 Saint Mary's used a big second half to beat Stanford 66-51 on Wednesday night and stay undefeated.TIP-INSSaint Mary's: Landale made 6 of 8 shots and is now 51 for 67 - a 76 percent clip. ... The Gaels had 21 assists on 27 baskets, giving them 120 assists on 176 field goals this season.Stanford: Warriors owner and Stanford fan Joe Lacob sat courtside. ... Haase is 2-9 all-time against ranked opponents. ... The Cardinal dropped to 183-81 all-time against current members of the WCC. This was the first visit by a WCC team to Maples Pavilion since a win over Loyola Marymount on Dec. 17, 2014.UP NEXTSaint Mary's: The Gaels have a lengthy layoff before hosting University of Texas at Arlington on Dec. 8.Stanford: The Cardinal face back-to-back ranked opponents, traveling to face Haase's old Kansas team - ranked fourth - on Saturday.

Jock Landale had 13 points and eight rebounds while playing in foul trouble for the sharp-passing Gaels (6-0).

Grant Verhoeven scored 12 points and Robert Cartwright added 10 for Stanford (6-2), under first-year coach Jerod Haase, is off to its best start in five seasons. The Cardinal began 10-1 in 2011-12.

Hermanson hit five of his 3s in the second half. After Stanford pulled within 48-45 on two free throws by Cartwright, Hermanson and Kyle Clark hit consecutive 3-pointers and Saint Mary's took off with a 16-3 run.

Saint Mary's opened the second half on a 12-0 run, getting two quick layups from Landale and Naar's 3-pointer for a 38-30 lead at the 15:36 mark as Stanford missed its first seven shots after intermission. Sheffield hit a jumper at 15:14 for Stanford's first points.

The Gaels needed a strong start after the break to keep its impressive early record unblemished. The teams finished even on rebounds with 29 apiece, but Stanford went 3 for 12 from beyond the arc and shot 38.2 percent for the game to 55.1 percent by Saint Mary's.

Saint Mary's won its first five games by an average of 18 points. The Gaels are picked to win the West Coast Conference after sharing the regular-season title last season with perennial power Gonzaga.

The Cardinal, who lost 78-61 on Saint Mary's home floor in McKeon Pavilion last year, then hung tough until the Gaels' barrage of late 3s - and 11 of 27 from long range overall, 7 of 9 by Hermanson.

This marked the 57th meeting between the Bay Area programs.