Category: Cal Bears

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.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal shoots an upset on undefeated Fresno for third win of the season

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Cal Bears guard Jordan Shepherd led Cal in scoring on Sun Nov 28, 2021 handing the Fresno Bulldogs their first loss of the season at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (image by Cal Bears Athletics)

On Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris’ after Cal Bears (3-4) loses to the Florida Gators (6-0) and the Seton Hall Pirates (5-1) there’s nothing like some home cooking and beating a pretty decent team the Fresno Bulldogs (5-1) 65-57.

#2 Prior to the loses to Florida and Seton Hall the Bears had back to back victories over San Diego and Southern Utah which isn’t the 1972 UCLA Bruins but that was showing much more than the kind of season they had last year.

#3 Total team effort you can see the distribution of the ball three players in double figures guard Jordan Shepherd 17 points, forward Andre Kelly 14 points, and forward Grant Anticevich with 13 points.

#4 Morris, if you had to point to one or two things that head coach Mark Fox has changed to get this team on track what are some of those changes.

#5 Cal hosts the Oregon State Beavers (1-6) on Thu Dec 2 at Haas Pavilion. The Beavers were beaten in their last game by the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-2) on Saturday night. The Beavers on a six game losing streak haven’t won a game since their opener Nov 9th against Portland State 73-64. Morris break down this match up on Thursday night.

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

Cal Puts Hands On Fresno State: Defensive effort keys Bears’ 65-57 win at Haas

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Active hands, defensive intensity and limiting second chances, the Cal Bears had some admirable phrases attached to their performance against Fresno State on Sunday night.

And one more: salting it away late which the Bears did in getting past the Bulldogs, 65-57 at Haas Pavilion.

Jordan Shepherd scored 17 points, and the Bears used a 13-4 run with eight minutes remaining to pull away from Fresno State. The Bulldogs were forced into uphill mode from the outset, falling behind 11-2 then suffering a lackluster effort on the glass combined with some untimely turnovers.

“We didn’t do what we needed to do to score and make the stops that we needed to on the road,” Fresno State coach Justin Hutson said. “We didn’t play a mature game to be able to come out and get a win on the road in front of a crowd. We just didn’t get the job done tonight.”

Conversely, Cal was ready to go from the start, and backed their early lead with an inspired defensive effort that kept the Bulldogs off the foul line and held to a season-low 57 points. Fresno State shot 36 percent in the first half and 43 percent for the game.

Credited with just three offensive rebounds, Fresno State was kept from second opportunities, and they got burned on their 12 turnovers which Cal used to fashion a 15-4 edge on points off turnovers. Orlando Robinson, Fresno’s 7-foot, junior center led them with 25 points, nine rebounds, but he didn’t get a lot of help from his teammates combating the Bears in the paint.

Isiah Hill was the only other Bulldog to score in double-figures but he was held to 10 points, missing his nine of his 13 shots from the floor.

A 16-9 run to open the second half got the Bulldogs even at 37. But after the game was tied at 40, Cal responded with their run to put the game away as Grant Anticevich scored six of his 13 points as Cal went up 53-44 with 3:19 remaining.

Andre Kelly contributed 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting, and his scoring was instrumental in Cal’s fast start.

The Bears are 3-4 on the season after consecutive losses accumulated in Florida. Next, they open Pac-12 competition with a home game against Oregon State on Thursday, and a trip to Salt Lake City on Sunday to face the upstart Utah Utes.

The match-up with the Beavers undoubtedly gives Cal its most favorable scheduling break of the season thus far with Oregon State on a six-game losing streak, including consecutive losses to Tulsa, Samford and Princeton.

While the Bears may sense a team in disarray, Oregon State is simply a team defined by returning experience as well as a completely-retooled backcourt that has been outplayed in parts of the team’s seven games. OSU is poised for improvement sooner rather than later.

The Beavers may also sense something well: that the Bears, picked to finish last in conference, might be just what coach Wayne Tinkle’s team needs to see this Thursday in order to end a losing skid and open conference play in style.

UCLA blows out Golden Bears 42-14, ends Cal’s bowl hopes

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Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers (7) is sacked and at the bottom of the pile brought down by UCLA defenders defensive back Cameron Johnson, right, and linebacker Mitchell Agude at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Sat Nov 27, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, November 27, 2021

California’s slim hopes of playing postseason football were dashed Saturday night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., when UCLA used a big second half to bury the Golden Bears 42-14.

The Pac-12 Conference loss eliminates the Golden Bears (4-7 overall, 3-5 Pac-12) from bowl eligibility. UCLA (8-4, 6-3) ended its regular season tied with Arizona State for second place in the Pac-12 South. Cal is assured of its second straight losing season, and a losing Pac-12 record for the 12th straight season.

Bruins quarterbaack Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed 19 of 28 passes for `64 yards and three touchdowns, while not being intercepted or sacked. He also gained 102 rushing yards on 13 carries. Zach Charbonnet led the Bruin rushing attack with 106 yards and a touchdown on 22 attempts.

Charbonnet, Greg Dulcich and Kyle Phillips each caught six passes for UCLA.

Cal signalcaller Chase Garbers had a tough evening, being picked off twice and sacked four times. He finished 16 of 31 for 125 yards and no touchdowns. Christopher Brooks ran 12 times for 61 rushing yards, and Kekoa Crawford and Marcel Dancy each caught five passes for the Golden Bears.

The Bruins gained 282 rushing yards against the top run defense in the conference. Cal was held to 91 total rushing yards.

UCLA opened the scoring with a 41-yard field goal by Nicholas Barr-Mira at 9:47 of the first quarter. The Bruins extended their lead to 10-0 on the first play of the second quarter, when Phillips hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Thompson-Robinson.

The Bears broke through six minutes later, when Brooks scored on a 14-yard run, and, at 7:34 of the second period, Garbers ran in on a 1-yard quarterback sneak, giving Cal a 14-10 lead,

But the Bruins responded with a 64-yard scoring drive that consumed 6 minutes and 29 seconds. With 32 seconds left in the first half, UCLA surged back ahead to stay at 17-14 on Kazmeir Allen’s 8-yard touchdown run.

From there, the Bruins scored 25 unanswered points throughout the second half to blow the game open. Dulcich snared a 29-yard scoring pass from Thompson-Robinson, and Barr-Mira kicked a 46-yard field goal, giving UCLA a 27-14 lead after three quarters.

Early in the fourth quarter, Charbonnet’s 1-yard TD run, and Phillips’ second scoring pass reception from Thompson-Robinson – this time for 4 yards – gave the Bruins a commanding 42-14 lead.

Cal closes out its season next Saturday, when the Bears host Southern California in a game that was postponed from an earlier date due to Cal’s team COVID outbreak. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Cal Bears football podcast with Daniel Dullum: After Crushing win against Stanford last week Bears face a tough Bruins offense Saturday in the Southland

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Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garber (7) throws against the Stanford Cardinal defense in first half action on Sat Nov 20, 2021 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto (AP News file photo)

Cal Bears football podcast with Daniel Dullum:

#1 Daniel, the Cal Bears (4-6) last Saturday in the Big Game crushed the Stanford Cardinal (3-8) 41-11 after Cal has won three of it’s last four games do you view this game as one more brick in the wall a good push toward getting a bowl game birth?

#2 Daniel, Cal quarterback Chase Garbers threw 17-26 for 246 yards, two touchdowns, one interception. It was his first game back since the two week hiatus when over 24 players were out for Covid 19 protocols forcing Cal to play red shirts and call ups against the Arizona Wildcats (1-8) in a game they lost Nov 6th 10-3 and to cancel the following week’s game and win the Big Game last Sat Nov 20th.

#3 It was pretty much landslide game for the Bears last Sunday getting scoring 14 points in the second quarter, 13 points in the third quarter, and 14 points in the fourth quarter. The Cardinal defense just couldn’t stop Cal on their home field.

#4 One of the luxories that Garbers had last Saturday against Stanford was he had time in the pocket to throw and he was able to find a target just about every time dropping back.

#5 Cal takes on the UCLA Bruins (7-4) the Bruins have done their own crushing on offense in their last two games taking out the Colorado Buffaloes (3-7) 44-20 and the USC Trojans (4-6) 62-33. UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson threw for 349 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions against the Trojans.

Join Daniel for the Cal Bears football podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com