Category: Cal Bears

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca: Bears go to capitalize on Broncos win host Dartmouth Sunday at Haas Pavilion

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Cal Bears Andre Kelly seen throwing down against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene in file photo. Kelly led Cal in scoring with 18 points in their last game against the Santa Clara Broncos on Sat Dec 11, 2021 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (Cal Bears Athletics file photo)

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael, the somewhat heavily favored Santa Clara Broncos (7-4) got a shock as the Cal Bears (6-5) had offensive control of the first and second halves and came up with a eight point 72-60 win at Haas Pavilion last Sat Dec 11.

#2 Michael, the Bears had three scorers in double figures led by Andre Kelly who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and one assist. Kelly has been getting lots of good looks on offense and has been the pivotal player in scoring.

#3 We can’t ignore guard Jordan Shepherd who finished second in scoring on Saturday with 15 points, six assists, three rebounds one the keys to head coach Mark Fox’s line up.

#4 Unlike last season the Bears when they get behind they get an offensive run, case in point the Broncos tied up the game with six minutes remaining at 53-53 then the Bears went on a 10-2 run with Kelly hitting a key basket and Grant Anticevich scored a jump shot and a lay up.

#5 Next up for Cal they host the Dartmouth Big Green (3-5) at Haas Pavilion on Sun Dec 19th at 1:00 PM PST. The Big Green have lost four straight games and will play Stanford (4-3) tonight before getting a shot at the Bears.

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears basketball podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal hosts Dartmouth Sunday; hoping for clean sweep on four game homestand

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The Cal Bears Andre Kelly (22) returns to the bench after having a great offensive night against the Oregon State Beavers on Thu Dec 2, 2021. The Bears host the Dartmouth Big Green on Sun Dec 19, 2021 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. (AP News photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris, talk about how crucial the offensive scoring of Cal Bears (6-5) Andre Kelly has been on Saturday night against the Santa Clara Broncos (7-4) leading with 18 points for the 72-60 win.

#2 Cal who was expected to win five or less games all season have won four of their last five games are a game over .500 and beat a very respectable team in Santa Clara on Saturday night.

#3 The Bears were perfect from the free throw line going ten for ten head coach Mark Fox is pleased with the improvement from the charity stripe.

#4 What can you say about Grant Anticevich with 12 points, eight rebounds, and one assist he’s not only been consistent but his contributions have been big during Cal’s recent wins.

#5 The Bears host the Dartmouth Big Green (3-5). The Big Green have lost three in a row after winning three in a row. Dartmouth lost in their most recent game to Boston University (9-3) 65-62. They’ve been in some of the games they’ve lost could they give Cal a real run next Sunday at Haas Pavilion?

Cal Bears podcasts with Morris Phillips could be heard each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal shocks Santa Clara 72-60; Kelly with hot hand scores 18 pts; Bears over .500 at 6-5

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The Cal Bears Jordan Shepherd and Makale Foreman celebrate the Bears eight point win over the visiting Santa Clara Broncos at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Dec 11, 2021 (photo by Cal Bears Athletics Dept)

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

The Cal Bears (6-5) Andre Kelly scored 18 points to lead the Bears to a 72-60 win over the much favored Santa Clara Broncos (7-4) at Haas Pavilion on Saturday night in Berkeley. The Bears didn’t even miss a free throw in their eight point win over the Broncos going 10-10 on the free throw line.

The Broncos tied up the game with six minutes remaining at 53-53 when they got a lay up from PJ Pipes. The Bears turned that around with a 10-2 come back run when Kelly hit a basket and Grant Anticevich scored a jump shot and a lay up.

Anticevich had 12 points, eight rebounds and an assist and finished in double figures third in scoring, the Bears Jordan Shepherd scored 15 points and had six assists. The big difference in the game was rebounding as Cal out rebounded the Broncos 44-26. The Broncos only pulled down one offensive rebound which if they had came close to the amount of rebounds that Cal had they could have the game in hand.

The Broncos had three players in scoring double figures Keeshawn Justice 13 points nine rebounds, Jalen Williams 12 points and four rebounds, three assists, and Giordan Williams 11 points and five rebounds.

The Bears host the Dartmouth Big Green (3-5) at Haas Pavilion on Sun Dec 19th at 1:00 PM PST. The Big Green have lost four straight games and will play Stanford (4-3) Thu Dec 16 before getting a shot at the Bears.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca: Cal has the run of the floor with crushing second half over Idaho State

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The Cal Bears forward Andre Kelly (22) throws down against the Idaho State Bengals on Wed Dec 8, 2021 night at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (photo by the Cal Bears Athletics Dept)

On the Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael, the Cal Bears (5-5) are coming off a huge 72-46 win over the Idaho State Bengals (1-8) after getting beat at Salt Lake City by the Utah Utes (6-2) 66-58 on Wednesday night.

#2 The Bears had three players in double figures lets start with their leading scorer forward Andre Kelly who finished with 12 points the Bears have been getting lot of offense from his recent games.

#3 John Shepherd finished second in scoring with 11 points he’s getting good ball distribution and has had some great shot selection and had led in scoring in his own right.

#4 The Bears just ran up the score in the second half with a 42-23 thrashing over the Bengals it was a half that head coach Mark Fox would love to see every night.

#5 Michael, the task gets harder as Cal hosts the Santa Clara Broncos (8-3) the Broncos have won five of their last eight games and last the Mount St Mary’s Mountaineers (3-8) by 11, 88-77 on Tuesday night. How do you see Cal preparing for Santa Clara for this Saturday at Haas Pavilion.

Join Michael for the Cal Bears basketball podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Bengals Bashed: Cal gets a rare laugher in 72-46 win over Idaho State

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Defense wins championships, and it also wins December non-conference games against overmatched opponents.

Don’t leave home without it, or make yourself at home with it.

Cal’s 72-46 victory over Idaho State was all defense after halftime, as the Bears ran away from Idaho while limiting the visitors to five made baskets after the break.

“We know as disjointed as our roster has been with injury that offensively it’s going to take a while to develop some chemistry,” coach Mark Fox said. “But I really wanted us to play hard defensively, and I thought in the second half we really showed that.”

The Bears benefitted in a stretch of 12 consecutive ISU misses that allowed Cal to stretch their lead to 49-30 with 11 minutes remaining. Idaho State shot an uncompetitive 28 percent from the floor in dropping an eighth consecutive game after opening the season with a win over NAIA Eastern Oregon.

Fox jumbled his starting lineup by promoting Makale Foreman and Sam Alajiki at the expense of Kuany Kuany and Joel Brown. While Kuany is out while dealing with an ankle injury, Brown played his normal minutes as a reserve. But the biggest beneficiary may have been Lars Thiemann, who came up with a career-best 12 points, three rebounds and a block in 19 minutes of action. The 7’1″ center’s presence gave the Bears defense force, and offensively his points were part of Cal’s decisive 42-16 edge in points in the paint.

“When he comes into the game he’s always capable of that,” guard Jordan Shepherd said of Thiemann. “We see it every day in practice.”

Marsalis Roberson, the freshman from Bishop O’Dowd in Oakland, made his collegiate debut, playing a couple of minutes in each half.

Idaho State was led by Robert Ford III with 11 points. Tarik Cool played the most minutes, and put up 14 shot attempts, but he couldn’t get it going, finishing with eight. The Bengals were outrebounded 44-32.

“We are feeling pretty beat up right now,” coach Ryan Looney said. “It has been a tough stretch and there a lot of things we need to do better.”

Andre Kelly had 12 points for Cal, and Grant Anticevich put up 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Shepherd had 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting.

The Bears have won five, consecutive home games and at 5-5 will be afforded an opportunity to move above. 500 when Santa Clara visits Haas Pavilion on Saturday evening.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Utes pull away from Cal in second half for win; Cal hosts Idaho State Tuesday

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The Utah Utes Both Gach who led with 19 points slams against the Cal Bears on Sun Dec 5, 2021 in Pac 12 action in Salt Lake City (AP News photo)

On the Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris, the Utah Utes (6-2) just were too much for the Cal Bears (4-5) to try and contain as they were defeated 66-58. The Utes had three scorers in double figures guard Both Gach 19 pts, center Brandon Carlson 12 pits, and Lazar Stefanovic with 12 points.

#2 It was the Utes home opener and they were short handed but you would never know watching the way the took over the offense against the Bears.

#3 Morris, After the Bears had that 73-61 win over the Oregon State Beavers on Thursday was a loss to the Utes of this magnitude surprising?

#4 The Bears in the first half had an eight point lead but that fell apart as the determined Utes on their home floor would eventually catch up for keeps on Sunday night.

#5 Wed Dec 8th at Haas Pavilion Cal hosts the Idaho State Bengals (1-7) who lost to Northern Arizona (4-5) on Saturday night 73-70. A close game it be but the Bengals are a struggling ball club and the Bears after losing to Utah want to get that bad taste of losing out of their mouths.

Join Morris for the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Withered In The Wasatch: Utah limits Cal in decisive 2nd half, wins 66-58

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By Morris Phillips

Things just got progressively more difficult for the Cal Bears in Salt Lake City on Sunday afternoon.

From realizing an early eight-point lead, then having to tussle to maintain some portion of that lead at the halftime break, the Cal Bears found resistance from host Utah almost immediately.

That pressure was ratcheted with Utah’s 10-0 run to take the lead four minutes into the second half, and it didn’t relent. Utah’s focus on stopping Cal’s top three offensive threats carried all the way through to the final horn, and a 66-58 Utes’ victory.

“We never found a rhythm in the second half,” coach Mark Fox said. “Our three-point shooting in the first half was good to us, and in the second half not so much. We have to have a more mature approach. We still had a possession late where we missed a couple of good threes that would have got it to a one-possession game.”

The Utes targeted Andre Kelly, Jordan Shepherd and Grant Anticevich for statistical close shaves, and they did a precise job, limiting the trio to 12 makes and no threes in a combined 33 shot attempts. Cal best offensive threats never got started–their teammates did, most notably Makale Foreman–and they certainly didn’t finish off anything.

Utah doubled Kelly in the post, which kept him to just six shot attempts. For Anticevich and Shepherd, the Utes were careful to stay attached, especially when either were looking to unleash a three.

“I don’t think we nearly demanded the ball well enough in the post,” Fox said of how his Bears reacted to Utah’s defensive approach. “I don’t think the post trap led us to a bunch of turnovers, but I don’t think we nearly executed with the authority that we need to on the offensive end to create advantages.”

The game’s progression told a simple tale: With Cal shut down in the paint, they initially made tough shots, especially Foreman who had eight of his 13 in Cal’s 26-18 start. But Foreman’s scoring ceased at halftime, and his teammates couldn’t follow his lead. The Bears missed all eight 3-point attempts and shot 29.6 percent after the break.

Both Gach led Utah with 19 points, six rebounds and Branden Carlson–a gametime decision with an ankle issue–started slow, but came up with 10 of his 12 after break, presumably when his injured ankle loosened up. Utah was 2 of 11 from three before the break, but much better with 6 of 14 afterwards.

“It wasn’t a fire and brimstone speech or anything like that at halftime,” Utah coach Craig Smith said. “But it was a matter-of-fact speech and we made a few adjustments with our screen and roll defense, which really helped us.”

The Utes avoided consecutive, home losses to start Pac-12 play, while Cal couldn’t surprise the entire West Coast with a 2-0 conference beginning after they were picked to finish 12th. Still, the early taste of league action was good for the Bears (4-5, 1-1) and their quiet confidence, and they’ll try to expand on it when they host Idaho State on Wednesday.

Bears close out football season with 24-14 home win over Trojans

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Southern California cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart (6) loses his helmet as he pushes California tight end Jake Tonges (85) out of bounds on Sat Dec 4, 2021 at Cal Memorial Stadium in Berkeley (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, December 4, 2021

California wrapped up its 2021 football season on a winning note Sarturday night at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, as the Golden Bears upended Southern California 24-14, completing the Pac-12 slate for both schools.

The Bears’ offense wasn’t overwhelming, but good enough. Christopher Brooks led the Cal ballcarriers with 41 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns. Chase Garbers completed 18 of 21 passes for 183 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and was sacked three times for 15 yards. Trevon Clark caught five passes for 65 yards, and Kekoa Crawford caught four passes for 22 yards.

Vavae Malepeai was the Trojans’ top rusher with 107 yards on 18 attempts. Quarterback Jaxson Darr completed 17 of 26 passes for 189 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and was sacked once. Michael Jackson III caught six passes for 73 yards, Kyle Ford snared five passes for 71 yards and a touchdown, and Tahj Washington caught five passes for 57 tards.

Cal (5-7) opened the scoring late in the first quarter, when Dario Longhetto booted a 27-yard field goal. The Trojans (4-8) took a 7-3 lead at 9:46 of the second quarter on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Darr to Ford.

The Golden Bears surged ahead to stay at 10-7 on Brooks’ 1-yard scoring run at 4:54 of the second quarter. Just 48 seconds later, Cal extended it’s lead with a stroke of luck. After Darwin Barlow gained two yards and fumbled on a 3rd-and-2 from the Bears’ 47, teammate Trey Paster picked up the loose ball and ran 55 yards for a Cal touchdown, giving the Bears a 17-7 halftime lead.

Cal extended its lead to 24-7 at 6:30 of the fourth quarter when Brooks scored his second touchdown of the night, a 2-yard run.

USC cut its deficit to 24-14 on a 30-yard Miller Moss touchdowbn pass to K.D. Nixon with 1:53 remaining in the game.

Dart was knocked out in the third quarter due to an apparent concussion. The loss ended the term of interim coach Donte Williams, who took over after Clay Helton was fired earlier this season. Lincoln Riley was recently hired to get the one-time power back on track.

Cal Bears football podcast with Daniel Dullum: Cal hopes for victory against USC to close out 2021 regular season

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Cal Bears head coach Justin Wilcox (center) as seen in this Sat Oct 30, 2021 file photo against the Oregon State Beavers has prepared his team to face the USC Trojans for this Sat Dec 4, 2021 at Cal Memorial Stadium in Berkeley in the final game of the regular season (AP News file photo)

On the Cal Bears football podcast with Daniel:

#1 Daniel, things have been going well for the Cal Bears (4-7) they have won three of their last five games and have recovered nicely since they had that run with Covid with a little over half the team was on the Covid list and they took that tough loss to the Arizona Wildcats (1-11) back on 10-3.

#2 The Bears had a bye week and then met the Stanford Cardinal (3-9) and crushed them in their own Stadium on Sat Nov 20th 41-11 in the Big Game.

#3 Then there was the Bears last game last Sat Nov 27 at UCLA (8-4) where Cal got crushed 42-14, Bears quarterback Chase Garbers struggled to get throws in the end zone and the Cal offense were victims of three and outs.

#4 The Bears defense spent a lot of time on the field against the Bruins and that defense had a hard time trying to stop the Bruins from moving down field.

#5 So the Bears try and go back to the drawing board as they host the USC Trojans (4-7) in a make up game that was postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak on the Cal football team. The Trojans lost their last game in a narrow contest against BYU 35-31 at USC. Daniel how do you see the Bears and Trojans matching up this Saturday at Cal.

Daniel did the Cal Bears podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Bears In The Paint: Cal takes its case inside in 73-61 win over Oregon State

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Cal didn’t win the statistical battle in the painted area on Thursday night, but they showed up, and that really was the key to their eye-catching 73-61 victory over Oregon State in their Pac-12 opener.

Clinging to a one-point halftime lead, Cal open the second half with ten of the first 11 points, all scored in the paint, to take control of a close game. They would go on to lead by as many as 16 and win by 12, with Jordan Shepherd (25 points, eight rebounds) and Andre Kelly (20 points, 12 rebounds) leading the way.

“We were really ready to play,” coach Mark Fox said. “At the end of the night we won the game.”

The Bears being picked to finish last in conference, but finding a way to win their first Pac-12 outing is no doubt a story, but the Beavers dropping a seventh straight game may be more noteworthy. Oregon State was beat decisively on the glass, and couldn’t stop Cal’s top scorers while losing by double-digits for the third time in their seven-game skid.

The Bears outrebounded Oregon State 42-24, attempted 19 free throws, making 16 and scored 28 points in the paint. The Beavers tallied 40 points in the paint, but did little else well. Leading scorer Warith Alatishe had 21 points, eight rebounds, but his three fouls committed were painful. The first two of Alatishe’s fouls came late in the shot clock, and the third put Cal in the bonus too early in the second half, dooming a potential comeback by the visitors.

“We stayed composed,” Shepherd said, when asked about OSU’s late, modest run that brought them within 60-53 with 4:10 remaining.

Andre Kelly scored in double figures for the sixth time this season, and he’s shooting 67.5 percent from the floor. Kelly has double-digit rebounds in four of the eight games. In the second half Thursday, Kelly was six for seven as Cal shot 54 percent from the floor.

Oregon State missed 14 of its first 17 shots after halftime, and Cal closed it out by making nine of their 10 free throw attempts down the stretch. The Utes were limited to ten free throw attempts, making six.

Cal improved to 4-4 on the season, and they travel Salt Lake City on Sunday to face Utah Utes, beaten 93-73 by USC in their conference opener on Wednesday. The Utes have dropped two straight after a 5-0 start to their season. The Trojans saw four of their five starters score in double figures in the rout.