Category: Cal Bears

Fast Finish: Cal races past Pacific in the second half, wins 73-53 in non-conference finale

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Three seasons into Coach Mark Fox’s Cal tenure, his holiday humor has taken hold. After visiting Pacific closed the first half Wednesday with a 14-2 burst, being humorous wasn’t easy and probably cathartic.

“It was going to be an ugly Christmas at halftime,” Fox conceded.

Fox was left ashen with the Tigers awakening. After suffering under Cal’s attention to defensive detail, Pacific turned a pair of eight-point deficits into a five-point halftime lead. The process was sudden, unexpected and wholly threatening to the big brother school holding a 26-2 advantage in the series between the schools. The process took 6 1/2 minutes and had the Bears reeling.

But then the second half commenced, and the sunshine returned on an ugly, rainy afternoon. The Bears responded decisively with a 48-point second half in a 73-53 win.

Grant Anticevich led the Bears with 25 points, 11 rebounds and a career-best seven 3-pointers. Essentially before Anticevich closed the deal, Jared Celestine (career-best 12 points), Jordan Shepherd and Andre Kelly (11 points each) kept the Bears afloat.

In a game of subtle twists, almost all predicated on defense in the absence of eye-popping offense, Fox pointed to an unlikely turning point with 10:33 remaining and Cal clinging to a two-point lead. If anything was comical, Fox’s declaration displayed it.

“Lars made a couple of big free throws,” Fox said.

Cal increased the pressure a few minutes later with a 21-2 closing run that yielded a 20-point victory.

And what specifically turned the contest into a rout? Probably, Pacific’s lack of resolve, nothing new for a young ballclub who has yet to score more than 67 points in any of its nine losses. That frustration kicks in when you shoot 36 percent in the second half and suffer 13 turnovers.

Jaden Byers led Pacific with 10 points, Jeremiah Bailey and Sam Freeman added eight points a piece. For new coach Leonard Perry, an encouraging six-minute stretch didn’t come with much else to extoll. And yes, the humor was eliminated.

“They’re learning, they’re trying, and it’s been a hard adjustment,” coach Leonard Perry said of UOP’s trajectory. “They stick in there and they compete during practice.”

The Bears established an eight-game home win streak along with momentum leading to their next test, January 2 at Stanford. Can the Bears win on the road, and can they win in the Pac-12?

We’re making progress and now we’ve got to see if we can beat the people in the league,” Fox said.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal now 2 games over .500 take on Pacific Wednesday night at Haas

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Cal Bears Jordan Shepherd drives against the Dartmouth Big Green Sun Dec 19, 2021 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (photo by Cal Bears Athletics)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris talk about the injury to the Cal Bears’ (7-5) Makale Foreman who had a reoccurrence of a previous injury when he fell in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Dartmouth Big Green (3-7). I knew you said the injury was indefinite any update to how long he will be out?

#2 Cal got an edge with their first lead with 4:23 remaining before the half and lead at the break by four points.

#3 In the second half Cal grew a 12 point lead over Dartmouth but didn’t fare much better than the Big Green in shooting at 42 percent and 26 percent from the three point line.

#4 Morris, when Foreman was felled that really put the pressure on Jalen Celestine, Sam Alajiki and Jared Hyder, and Jordan Shepherd’s minutes spiked which caused concern.

#5 The Bears host the Pacific Tigers (5-9) on Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion, Pacific has struggled losing five of their last six games and an 11 point affair to the UC Davis Aggies 77-67 on Sunday. How do you see Pacific and Cal matching up on Wednesday?

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

Bear Down: Defense carries Cal past Dartmouth 61-55, but Foreman suffers significant injury

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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.

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.