Author: Eric He

Barracuda fall in shootout to Bakersfield

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By: Eric He

The San Jose Barracuda were unable to extend their win streak to three, as they fell 2-1 in a shootout to Bakersfield on the road on Wednesday morning.

It was a special start for school day, and the home team sent the kids home happy.

In the shootout, Ryan Hamilton scored the lone goal as Condors goaltender Laurent Brossoit stopped all three shootout chances for the Barracuda.

Down 1-0 in the third period, the Barracuda evened the score on a deflection by Bryan Lerg at 6:38 and the teams headed to overtime tied 1-1. Despite an exciting overtime session that saw an unsuccessful breakaway by Barclay Goodrow, the Barracuda were unable to find the back of the net.

Bakersfield struck first midway through the first period on a wraparound goal by Marc-Olivier Roy. The game remained 1-0 into the third in a low-scoring affair.

In the midst of a seven-game road trip, the Barracuda will head to Stockton to take on the Heat on Saturday.

photo credit San Jose Barracuda from game in Bakersfield Wed 11-18-15

Warriors Beat Raptors, Advance to 12-0

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By: Eric He

It was a pretty first half followed by an ugly second half, but the Golden State Warriors emerged out of Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors with a 115-110 victory to remain perfect at 12-0.

Much of the second half was played at a halfcourt, slow tempo, and the Raptors were able to keep the Warriors at bay and stay in the game.

With 38 seconds left, DeMar DeRozan made a layup to cut the Warriors lead to 109-108. After a defensive stop, the Raptors had a chance to take the lead but a questionable foul was called on Lowry.

After a pair of free throws by Stephen Curry, the Raptors, without a timeout, needed a three to tie but Kyle Lowrie went for a layup instead of a three-pointer, and was still denied at the rim.

That allowed the Warriors to come away with a tight win to become just the seventh team in NBA history to start the year 12-0.

Toronto didn’t score a field goal for nearly nine minutes in the fourth, but still managed to take the lead with free throw shooting, as the Warriors got themselves in foul trouble.

Lowry’s foul shots at 5:54 put the Raptors ahead 98-96, their first lead since the first quarter.

But the Warriors responded with a quick 7-0 run out of a timeout, starting with a lob from Draymond Green to Andrew Bogut to tie the game back up. Curry made a three, and Green’s floater put the Warriors ahead 103-98.

The Raptors’ first field goal since the 11:26 mark came from Lowry, whose three cut the lead to 105-103 with under three minutes to play.

Curry finished with a game-high 37 points to go along with nine assists. Klay Thompson had 19 points. For the Raptors, Lowry and DeRozan both recorded 28 points.

Up 16 at halftime, the Warriors allowed the Raptors back in the game on the strength of a 20-8 spurt. Toronto knocked down some open shots to cut the lead to six at 73-67 midway through the third.

Curry kept the Warriors ahead and Andre Iguodala’s late basket gave Golden State a 90-83 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The Warriors went on a scintillating 28-10 run in the latter portion of the second quarter to build up a comfortable halftime advantage.

With the game tied 35-35, the Warriors took over. Thompson heated up with several jumpers, and his three with 3:25 to play gave the Warriors an eight-point advantage. The Warriors then ripped off 10 unanswered points, starting off with a steal and layup by Curry on the ensuing inbounds pass.

An alley-oop from Thompson to Andre Iguodala incited a Raptors’ timeout, but that did little to slow the Warriors’ momentum. In almost mirror, Festus Ezeli and Iguodala both grabbed tough rebounds that led to threes by Thompson and Curry, respectively to give the Warriors an 18-point lead.

The Warriors led 63-47 at halftime. Thompson had 18 points to lead the way.

Barracuda complete back-to-back wins over Gulls

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By: Eric He

photo credit SJ Barracuda

The San Jose Barracuda hung on on Saturday night for a 4-3 win over the San Diego Gulls to complete a back-to-back road sweep.

The Barracuda won in a shootout on Friday night, but on Saturday they needed just 60 minutes to come away with the victory.

Taking a 4-1 lead into the third period, the Barracuda hung on after the Gulls converted on a 5-on-3 midway through the period and scored with 2.1 seconds on the clock to cut the lead to 4-3. But it was too little, too late.

San Jose started off fast with two goals in the first period. Jeremy Langlois and Karl Stollery converted on goals. Early in the second period, Mark Cundari scored a power play goal on a shot from the point to give the Barracuda a three-goal lead.

It was enough to hold off the Gulls and advance the Barracuda’s road record to 4-2-0-0. San Jose is 5-6-0-1 overall.

Up next, the Barracuda will play the Condors in Bakersfield at a special 10:30am start time on Wednesday.

Barracuda Notch Shootout Win Over Gulls

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By: Eric He

In an exciting affair, the San Jose Barracuda defeated the San Diego Gulls 4-3 in a shootout on the road on Friday night.

Down 3-2 late in the third period, Scott Timmons even the scored for the Barracuda with 24 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

The overtime was a wild one. The Barracuda thought they had won on a goal by Joakim Ryan, but it was waved off. Then, San Diego had a prime opportunity on a penalty shot, but Barracuda netminder Troy Groesnick turned down Brandon Montour.

In the shootout, Jeremy Langlois converted in the third round to win it for San Jose.

The Barracuda came back from a 2-0 deficit as Barclay Goodrow and Bryan Lerg scored in the second period to even the score. San Jose dominated the period, outshooting San Diego 13-6. It was a sharp contrast to the first period, where the Gulls jumped ahead with two early goals and controlled possession.

Attendance on Friday was 10,010.

The Barracuda will remain in San Diego and play the Gulls again tomorrow on the road.

Warriors Beat Timberwolves Behind Curry’s 46

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By: Eric He

Behind 46 points from Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors poured it on in a 129-116 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Curry went 8-of-13 from three-point range and made all eight of his free throws. He scored 21 points alone in the first quarter as the Warriors dropped 40 points to lead by 13 heading into the second.

An 8-2 run to start the second gave the Warriors a 48-30 advantage. Minnesota cut the lead down to as little as six, but a run by Golden State to end the quarter, finished off with a Curry layup at the buzzer, put them back up by double digits.

The Warriors fended off several pushes by the Timberwolves to climb back in the game, especially in the end of the third quarter when an 13-0 spurt threatened the Warriors’ large advantage. A putback by Kevin Martin with 9:47 to play trimmed the lead to 99-94.

But Curry and the Warriors regained command, as a barrage of threes and quick baskets built up the lead again as the Warriors wound up winning comfortably.

The Warriors advance to 10-0 while the Timberwolves drop to .500 at 4-4.

Barracuda’s comeback attempt falls short in loss to Reign

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By: Eric He

The San Jose Barracuda had a tremendous opportunity to come back from a 2-0 deficit, but could not convert on a late 5-on-3 power play as they fell to the Ontario Reign 2-1 on the road on Wednesday night.

The loss kicked off a seven-game road trip for the Barracuda.

Jeremy Langlois cut a 2-0 deficit in half in the second period for the Barracuda with a nice individual effort, bursting into the zone and firing one in from the left circle.

But Ontario’s two first period goals were too much to overcome. Kurtis MacDermid and Sean Backman recorded goals for the Reign before the ten-minute mark of the first as they outshot San Jose 11-5.

The Barracuda finished 0-for-3 on the power play and missed a key chance to even the score late in the third with a two-man advantage.

They have now lost six of their last seven games and are 3-6-0-1 overall. They are 2-2-0-0 on the road.

Next up, San Jose will play a pair of games at the San Diego Gulls on Friday and Saturday.

Cal Bears Dominate Carroll College in Exhibition Win

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By: Eric He

photo credit calbear.com Cal vs. Carroll exhibition game

Carroll College may not be much of a barometer, but the Cal Bears nonetheless were impressive in exhibition play Monday night as they routed Carroll College 93-58.

The No. 14-ranked Bears cruised with the help of an early 20-0 run and were never really tested by their little-known opponent at Haas Pavilion.

Highly-touted recruits Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown finished with 11 and 17 points, respectively, as five Bears finished in double figures.

“I thought he did a good job,” said head coach Cuonzo Martin. “I’ll have to watch film, but I thought a couple times Ivan could have taken tough shots with the double on him. I’ve told him sometimes you’ll force shots when the double team hits you just to be aggressive and assertive.”

For junior Tyrone Wallace, the game served as a chance for the team to get its feet wet.

“I think we just wanted to come out here and play as hard as we can, compete on both ends of the floor, defend, rebound and play hard,” he said.

Wallace finished with 15 points, including a couple of highlight-reel dunks in the first quarter.

Off the bench, Stephen Domingo chipped in 13 points, hitting 3-of-6 from downtown.

The Bears as a team shot 53.1 percent from the floor while limiting Carroll College to 35.2 percent.

Cal begins its season on Friday against Rice at Haas Pavilion.

Warriors Survive Scare in Sacramento

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By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors unexpectedly found themselves trailing the Sacramento Kings with six minutes to play in the game.

But the defending champions, who had been lackadaisical up to that point, found their game when they needed it most. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both drilled three-pointers as the Warriors outscored the Kings 25-13 from that point on to win 103-94 in Sacramento on Saturday night.

Curry’s three with 42 seconds to play put the Warriors up 97-88 and served as the exclamation mark on the victory.

The defending MVP struggled on the night, shooting just 2-of-10 from three-point range. But he still had 24 points and six rebounds. Thompson recorded 18 points, while Festus Ezeli had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Warriors committed 18 turnovers and were sloppy throughout the game. They led 20-14 after the first quarter and 46-38 at halftime, but allowed the Kings to hang around and stay in the game.

Sacramento nearly pulled it off too, as the Kings closed a 67-58 gap down to just four at the end of the third quarter

But what’s most important is the win, which the Warriors escaped with, advancing to 7-0 and remaining the only undefeated team in the NBA.

Burns’ late goal pushes Sharks past Avalanche

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By: Eric He

AP photo SJ Sharks Brent Burns in beard scores go ahead goal in third period

The San Jose Sharks earned a split in their weekend road trip with a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center on Sunday afternoon.

Brent Burns scored a huge goal with under two minutes to play in the third period that untied a 2-2 game. Burns, trailing the rush, took a feed from Patrick Marleau, transferred it from his skate to stick and fired it past Semyon Varlamov to put the Sharks ahead. It was the second goal of the game for the smooth-skating defenseman, who now has six on the year.

Joe Pavelski added an empty-netter 19 seconds later to make it 4-2 Sharks. The Avalanche responded with a fluke goal by Cody McLeod that cut the lead to one, but San Jose was able to hang on for the win.

The score was deadlocked 2-2 heading into the third period, with each team scoring a goal in each of the first two periods. Jarome Iginla started the scoring with a power play goal early in the first. Joel Ward answered at the 7:00 mark, following up his own rebound in front after a steal by Marleau in the offensive zone.

The Sharks took a 2-1 lead on a shorthanded goal midway through the second period. Barclay Goodrow pinned the puck deep in Avalanche territory and then set up Burns for a booming slap shot from the right point that beat Varlamov.

But on the same power play, Colorado got the goal back on a wrist shot by Francois Beauchemin.

The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 32-26 and snapped a two-game losing skid. They are now back over .500 at 6-5-0 and return to San Jose for a four-game homestand that begins against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Warriors Defeat Pelicans Behind Curry’s 53

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By: Eric He

Stephen Curry put on yet another dazzling display of basketball as he lit up the New Orleans Pelicans for 53 points, leading the way for a 134-120 victory by the Golden State Warriors on the road Saturday night.

Twenty-eight of Curry’s points came in the third quarter, where the Warriors outscored the Pelicans 41-26 (yes, Curry outscored the Pelicans by himself) and pulled away.

The Warriors actually trailed 65-64 at halftime before Curry, who had 15 at the half, went off. Three-pointers, scoop layups, four-point plays, fancy dribbling — Curry simply took over and would not let the Warriors lose.

By the end of the third quarter, the Warriors led 105-91 and cruised in the fourth to a double-digit win.

Draymond Green chipped in 21 points, making a few crucial threes in the second half. Klay Thompson got on track for the first time this season with 19 points.

The Warriors shot 54.8 percent from the field and a blistering 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from beyond-the-arc, a dazzling display of offense.

Golden State advances to 3-0 while New Orleans drops to 0-3. The Warriors fly home to take on the Grizzlies on Monday.