By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Coach Mark Fox wasn’t joking around. In his mind, Dartmouth’s Brendan Berry, the Ivy League’s 3-point savant, was comparable to Steph Curry.

And Fox’s concern didn’t end with Barry. Secondary threats Taurus Samuels and Ryan Cornish were also capable of big shooting nights, so Fox made a choice, and a commitment.

“Dartmouth is a great three-point shooting team,” said Fox. “Our objective was to take away the three-point shot even at the expense of giving up some two-point shots, and ultimately we did a pretty good job of that.”

Never mind that the Big Green had suffered five, consecutive losses including an embarrassing late game collapse at Stanford on Thursday, resulting in an overtime loss. And Fox didn’t overplay Cal’s success at Haas Pavilion, where they were looking for a sixth, consecutive win. Instead the Cal coach was seeking some certainty that wasn’t rooted in modest winning or losing streaks. To him, a defensive strategy that emphasized his club’s fast improving defense was the path to take, with entertainment value barely a concern.

“Our defense was consistent enough to win,” Fox reiterated. “It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it.”

Cal stopped Barry cold in his tracks, limiting Dartmouth’s leading scorer to 10 points, and misses on five of his six 3-point attempts. Cornish and Samuels didn’t fare any better, failing to make even one three between them. And Cal kicked in a decisive effort on the glass as well, spearheading their 61-55 win on Sunday afternoon.

Jordan Shepherd led Cal with 11 of his 18 points after the halftime break. Andre Kelly added 14, and Grant Anticevich came up big with seven points and a career-best 15 rebounds.

Cal took its first lead, 22-21, with 4:23 remaining before halftime. The Bears led by four at the break, and saw their advantage grow to as much as 12 midway through the second half. But this was a struggle with Cal’s offensive numbers–42 percent shooting, and 26 percent from three–not much sexier than the visitors.

But in the end Fox was pleased, with a couple of caveats. Those misgivings began with Makale Foreman’s foot injury that likely will leave him sidelined indefinitely. When Foreman was felled in the second half–a reoccurrence of a previous injury–that put tremendous pressure on the rest of the Cal rotation. While Cal got meaningful contributions from Jalen Celestine, Sam Alajiki and Jared Hyder, Shepherd’s minutes spiked, causing concern.

“Jordan Shepherd played a massive number of minutes, and we’ll have to get some relief there.”

The Bears conclude their non-conference schedule on Wednesday when Pacific of Stockton visits Haas Pavilion. The Tigers suffered a lopsided 77-67 home loss to UC Davis on Sunday, a game in which the Tigers trailed 41-21 at the break.