The Cal Bears forward Grant Newell (14) and guard Jalen Cone (15) jump for joy as the Bears defeated the USC Trojans in OT for Cal’s tenth win of the season at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Wed Feb 7, 2024 (Cal Bears photo)
Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024
Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California
USC Trojans 77 (9-14 Overall; 3-9 Pac-12)
California Golden Bears 83 (10-13 Overall; 6-6 Pac-12)
By Stephen Ruderman
The Bears dodged a bullet, and beat the USC Trojans in overtime, 83-77, to cap off yet another painful win in what was their first win against USC in over seven years.
The Bears returned home following a convincing win over the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe on Saturday to host a USC Trojans team, who had beaten the Bears in each of their previous 11 matchups.
There would be no scoring in the first minute of the game, but Cal struck first with a dunk and jumper from Fardaws Aimaq. Arrinten Page laid one in to put USC on the board, and Joshua Morgan hit a jumper to tie it, 4-4.
Aimaq hit a jumper to put the Bears back ahead at 6-4, as he scored each of the Bears’ first six points tonight, and the two teams remained neck and neck for the next several minutes.
The Bears led 22-21 when Grant Newell was fouled with 8:34 remaining in the first half, and Newell made both shots from the line. From there, Jalen Cone took off, as he hit back-to-back-to-back threes to open up a 33-25 lead for the Bears.
Cone went for fourth-straight three, and was fouled, but he then hit all three shots from the line to make it 36-25 with 5:39 to go.
The Trojans then made a charge, and scored six unanswered points to cut Cal’s lead to 36-31. However, Aimaq made a pair of dunks, and Newell made a jumper, as the Bears went into the half with a 6-0 run to open their lead back to 11 at 42-31.
The Bears carried their momentum into the second half, as Jalen Celestine hit a three ball, and Jaylon Tyson laid one in, as the Bears’ run extended to 11-0 to make it 47-31. Boogie Ellis was fouled and made one of two from the line, and DJ Rodman, the son of NBA Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman, laid one in to give USC a reprieve.
The Trojans then started to slowly chip away at the Bears’ lead. Tyson made a jumper and a layup, but a three-ball by Kobe Johnson cut the lead to 51-39 with 15:32 remaining.
From there, there would not be any scoring for nearly three minutes until Rodman hit a three to make it 51-42. Isaiah Collier made a layup; was fouled; and then hit his shot from the line to cut the Bears’ lead to just six at 51-45.
The Bears were now in danger of blowing another big lead. However, they responded swiftly with a 7-2 run, which featured a three by Tyson; a jumper by Celestine; and a layup by Keonte Kennedy, as the Bears opened their lead back up to 58-47 with 9:05 to go.
Collier then went on a show, and scored seven unanswered points to make it 58-54. Tyson laid one in, and hit one from the line after being fouled on the play, but the Trojans were relentless, as Morgan slammed one down, and Collier hit a layup and a pair of free throws to make it just a one-point game at 61-60.
Once again, there the Bears were on the verge of blowing yet another big lead in a season that has seen them do so so many times. However, Tyson and Cone each hit threes to make it 67-62 with 1:58 remaining, and things were looking good for the Bears.
However, these were the 2023-2024 California Golden Bears, and there was going to be more pain for the Bears and their fans in this one. Ellis and Rodman each made layups to make it 67-66. Tyson and Aimaq each missed layups, and Collier was fouled and made one of two at the line to tie it, 67-67 with 27 seconds to go.
After an intentional foul, Jaylon Tyson missed a three at the buzzer, and we were headed to overtime.
So there you had it, another blown lead for the Bears in this wild roller coaster ride of a season. However, through all the pain, there has been tremendous excitement and glory, and we were about to see whether the Bears had anymore in them.
Aimaq was fouled and made one of two from the line to start overtime, but Ellis laid one in to give the Trojans the lead, 69-68. It was USC’s first lead since Bronny James, the son of NBA star Lebron James, who was in attendance at Haas Pavilion tonight, hit a three to put them up 14-13 in the early part of the first half.
Tyson slammed one down to put the Bears back ahead, but Collier drew a foul and hit two from the line to do the same for USC. Tyson was fouled and hit two from the line, and then Collier was fouled, but only hit one from the line, as the game was tied, 72-72.
Jalen Celestine lit up the sellout crowd at Haas Pavilion with a three to put Cal up 75-72, but of course the Trojans were not going to make this easy. Following a layup by Kobe Johnson, Cone hit a three to make it 78-74, but go figure, Rodman hit a three to make it 78-77 with 36 seconds remaining.
Kennedy then drew a foul, and he hit both from the line to make it 80-77. Aimaq blocked a layup by Collier; then Celestine took the rebound, and was fouled. Celestine made one of two from the line to make it 81-77.
After Rodman missed a three, USC had no choice but to foul Celestine, who took the rebound, but Celestine made both from the line, and Bears held on to win it, 83-77.
Just another painful win for the Bears, who have had so many of them in a comeback season following their second-worst in team history. But hey, if you’re going to have even a close-to-.500 season following a 3-29 season, there is going to be a lot of pain. That’s just how it goes.
With this win, the Bears have won four of their last five. They improve to .500 in conference play at 66, and improve to 10-13 overall. This is also Cal’s first win against USC since Jan. 8, 2017, which was during the Bears’ last winning season.
As for the individual players, Jaylon Tyson had an incredible night, as he scored 27 points. Jalen Cone was also pretty solid with a 20-point performance. Isaiah Collier scored 20, and DJ Rodman scored 17 for USC. Bronny James did hit that three early in the first half, but he only scored five on the night in front of his old man.
Now the Bears will welcome the UCLA Bruins into the House of Pain for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff on Saturday.
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