When Stanford took the floor for halftime warm-ups, it was Brook Lopez who came out of the tunnel first. It seemed appropriate that the sophomore big man, who played only five minutes in the first half after picking up his second foul, would want a head start to get warm.

He got a little more than just warm.

Lopez scored all of his game-high 23 points in the second half as the Stanford Cardinal held off a feisty California team for a big 82-77 win at Haas Pavilion Saturday evening.

For No. 20 Stanford (16-3, 5-2 Pac-10) it was a big win in every sense of the word. Standings wise, it moved the Cardinal into a tie with Washington State for second place in the Pacific-10 Conference. But on the court, too, Stanford was big — dominating with its size advantage on both ends of the floor, and beating the Bears (11-7, 2-5) to nearly every rebound and loose ball.

They’re [the Lopez twins] both really skilled big guys, and it’s tough getting shots up over them,” said California big man DeVon Hardin, who led the Bears with 17 points. “They’re shot blockers, and it brought a challenge down in the paint.”

He’s such a big body,” Hardin added about Brook Lopez. “He’s going to finish if he gets anywhere near the rim.”

opez did that early and often in the second half, scoring nine of Stanford’s first 11 points after the break. He finished with 7-for-9 shooting from the field, while his brother Robin chipped in with 10 points, four blocks and a season-high 14 rebounds — including 10 offensive boards.

There’s no secret to what we’re doing,” Stanford coach Trent Johnson said. “We’re inside-out oriented; get the ball on the block, and we’ll have opportunities to make plays.”

Powered in large part by Robin Lopez’s 10 offensive rebounds, the team as a whole netted 21 boards on the offensive glass. The Cardinal dominated the boards throughout (42-35) and deflated Cal by scoring on second and third chance opportunities and getting to the line for 38 free throw attempts, making 24.

“A lot of those free throws were off offensive rebounds,” said Cal guard Patrick Christopher, who added 16 points and four assists. “They got those second chance points — that killed us.”

Stanford also excelled on defense. Cal forward Ryan Anderson, entering the game as the Pac-10’s leading scorer (21.9 points per game) managed to score just 11 against the Cardinal’s twin towers.

Neither team started particularly well, and the game was marred by myriad turnovers and fouls in the opening minutes. Stanford experimented with a zone defense with both Lopez twins on the bench, mounting a 11-0 run midway through the first half by forcing turnovers and pushing the ball in transition. But the shots began falling for the Bears, who responded with a 9-0 run of their own to get within one, 24-23, with 4:26 remaining in the half.

Cal finished with 52.4 percent shooting for the half, 20 percent better than Stanford’s 32.4, but the Cardinal held on to a slim 31-30 lead going into the intermission.

After Lopez’s run to start the second half, Christopher caught fire for Cal and the Bears took a 45-44 lead at the 13-minute mark.

The ensuing possession defined the game in many respects: Robin Lopez, fouled on a put-back attempt, missed both free throws, but junior Lawrence Hill snagged the offensive board and found guard Drew Shiller for a three-pointer to put momentum back in the Cardinal’s corner.

“A couple times they got a couple lobs, a couple threes, a couple big plays like that and I thought we did a good job of countering their runs and taking some big blows,” said junior guard Mitch Johnson (16 points, seven assists), “[we were] staying consistent in what we were doing, getting the ball down to Brook and not getting away from our game plan.”

Stanford was boosted by strong play off the bench, especially by forward Taj Finger (six points, six rebounds) and Schiller, who had not seen much playing time lately but hit two timely three-pointers. Trent Johnson said his team’s bench play was “refreshing.”

“For the most part I thought we got some major contributions from guys coming off the bench,” he said. “And this is a team, as I’ve said all year long, we’re only as strong as our weakest link.”

The Cardinal took the lead for good with 9:30 left when the Lopez twins mounted a 7-0 run on their own. The Bears got within two with 2:48 remaining after a Hardin dunk and layup over Brook Lopez. But the bruising big man fouled out on the next possession, and despite his efforts to rally the crowd as he headed to the bench, Stanford had again withstood Cal’s run.

“The thing I like about our group is that we’re playing through the peaks and valleys,” Trent Johnson said. “And we’re getting to where we need to be, and that’s staying within striking distance.”