By Morris Phillips

Tyrone Wallace’s final dash up the floor could have easily fallen into the same category as the entirety of Thursday’s USC-Cal clash: mildly entertaining fare emanating from the Pac-12’s soft underbelly.

But Wallace’s rush up the floor and buzzer-beating, game-winning three was much more than that.  It not only surprised the young Trojans, robbing them of a win both rare and unlikely, it also incited an impromptu mid-court celebration of Cal fans and players that quickly allowed the Bears to forget how depressing the whole evening could have ended.

And the 70-69 decision also served as a reminder of how much promise remains in Cal’s wildly inconsistent, up-and-down season entering the final stretch.

“The thing I tell our guys—even after an exhibition game—is that you have to enjoy the wins because you never know when the next one is coming,” winning coach Cuonzo Martin said.  “It’s always tough to play.  Injuries and key guys go down and stuff happens, so appreciate the wins, learn from them, enjoy them and don’t let them cripple you.  I think our guys understand the importance of winning games, appreciating the wins and moving forward.”

Wallace’s game winner came less than 10 seconds after he missed the front end of a one-and-one that would have evened the score at 68.  But after a quick foul, USC’s Jordan McLaughlin could only convert one of two free throw attempts allowing room for Wallace to redeem himself and snatch victory from the powerful jaws of defeat.

David Kravish grabbed McLaughlin’s miss and quickly unleashed an outlet pass to Wallace streaking up the left side of the floor with USC freshman Malik Marquetti in close pursuit.  Wallace’s clear release meant the Bears would eschew their remaining timeout and hopefully catch the Trojans napping, but Marquetti was in position to contest and he was joined by teammate Elijah Stewart when Wallace approached the three-point arc looking for an opening to release a shot.

So Wallace gave a quick pump fake and rose above both defenders who decided to stand, reach skyward and avoid a foul instead of aggressively contesting Wallace’s shot.  So Cal’s leading scorer went up and sank the game winner.

“The shot felt really good,” Wallace recounted.  “It felt it off my hands and I thought it was going in.  I followed it all the way through, it went in and everybody rushed the floor.”

Cal has won consecutive games with a 3-pointer at the buzzer and three straight overall after six straight losses.  The Bears (14-9, 4-6) remain stuck in the middle of the pack in the Pac-12 trailing seven conference foes with only two or three likely to gain NCAA bids.  So their path is an uphill one, but not an impossibility given the spark the mini win-streak has provided.

“There’s definitely still work to be done, but seeing things start to go our way is huge,” Kravish said.  “Guys are starting to hit shots.  Sam hit that game winner, came back out and hit another three today.  It’s really good.  It gets our confidence going.”

Youthful USC may have lost this one in the first ten minutes and not at the buzzer.  The Trojans needed more than 10 minutes to score 10 points, and their energy and attention to detail at both ends were clearly lacking.  Already, USC entered the game last in shooting percentage in conference from the field, the 3-point line and the charity stripe.  Along with missing shots, the Trojans also let too many Bears find their sweet spots offensively allowing Cal to lead by 14 at one point in the opening 20 minutes and by nine points at halftime.

But midway through the second half, USC caught fire behind herky-jerky freshman McLaughlin and led 66-61 with less than two minutes remaining.  But the Bears fought back and were poised to shock when the Trojans’ freshman was able to convert only one of two free throws with less than five seconds remaining.

Wallace led Cal with 18 points, including three of Cal’s nine made threes.  The Trojans got 20 from McLaughlin and 16 from Katin Reinhardt but couldn’t overcome 18 turnovers or nine missed free throws.

The Bears look to stretch their win streak on Saturday when UCLA visits Haas Pavilion at 5pm.  The Bruins held on to win at Stanford, 69-67, on Thursday.