By Morris Phillips

This time the Cal Bears didn’t seem particularly excited about summoning last second dramatics to pull out a win.  So instead, they ran their tried-and-true offensive look with leading scorer Tyrone Wallace attacking from his left between the circles facing the basket.

Wallace’s runner with 21 seconds left followed by Sam Singer’s steal iced the Bears 68-61 win at Colorado, their fifth straight.  Cal had dropped six in a row at Boulder–and never won at the Coors Event Center under Coach Mike Montgomery–a drought dating back to December 1974.

“To beat a team of this magnitude on their home floor with this energy and passion is a real credit to our guys,” Cuonzo Martin said.

The loss was a bitter one for the Buffs.  Colorado had their three top players—Askia Booker, Josh Scott and Xavier Johnson—available for the first time since early January, but they didn’t look healthy.  The 6’9” Scott struggled to run and missed eight of his 13 shots.  Booker wasn’t his  usual explosive self and did not shoot daggers through the Bears as he has in the past, and Johnson failed to make half his shots for the fourth straight game upon his return from injury.

“We knew that the energy and emotion would be there but like I said to our guys, ‘all we have to do is be sound’ because there is a chemistry that you are trying to get when so many guys have been out,” Martin said.

Colorado shot just 36 percent from the floor and lost consecutive conference home games for the first time since 2009.  Unless the Buffs can resurrect themselves from their 4-7 Pac-12 record, they’ll miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four seasons.

“We’re down right now, but we’re not out,” CU Coach Tad Boyle said.

The Bears hurt Colorado with long range shooting, continuing the hot streak from distance that has been a constant during their win streak.  Cal was 10 of 22 against CU with Jordan Mathews and Dwight Tarwater combining for seven of the makes.  Cal led by one at the half, and extended their lead to double-digits early in the second half.  But when that comfortable lead evaporated to two in the final minute, the Bears seemed visually perturbed, and Martin called Wallace’s number.

Wallace’s unique ability to turn his hips, deceive with his eyes, and speed through a pair of pick-and-roll defenders on his way to the basket is quite simply world class.  Similar to how Dywane Wade operated in his prime, a bigger Cal teammate runs back from the free-throw line extended and sets a high screen for Wallace, forcing his defender to run away from the basket to meet the screen.   Wallace picks the precise moment to engage the screen, often circling his teammate with a head of steam almost always eliminating the primary defender.  Then with his eyes and hips, he navigates the bigger defender, who is at a disadvantage needing to quickly reverse ground to keep Wallace from getting into the paint.

The fact that Wallace is narrow, fast and can turn his hips and dribble ahead of his body with his dominant right hand makes the play deadly.  The path taken also leads the 6’5” guard directly to his sweet spot in the mid-lane area where he has a variety of shots and release points.

Up 63-61 with 21 seconds left, Wallace saw a pair of bigger screen defenders in the 6’7” Johnson and Scott and both retreated in tandem, seemingly stopping Wallace at the free throw line.  But Wallace proved resourceful, first hesitating, then penetrating into the lane with Johnson and Scott still retreating, and lofted a five-footer that was perfect.

The Bears have battled back from a 1-6 start in Pac-12 play to get to .500, but their NCAA hopes would still have to be considered a long shot.  A win over either ranked Arizona or ranked Utah would have to be a must, but Cal may also have to beat all four of their other remaining opponents—with a trip to better-positioned Stanford included.

The Bears (16-9, 6-6) get their opportunity to upset No. 11 Utah on Sunday afternoon in Salt Lake City.