Category: Cal Bears

Cal hangs with No. 1 Duke briefly, then wilts in 87-52 loss at Madison Square Garden

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By Morris Phillips

The Cal Bears found themselves surrounded by basketball royalty on Thursday: in Madison Square Garden, on national television, facing No. 1 Duke and legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski.

But like Cinderella at the ball, it wasn’t long before the Bears found their inclusion in the proceedings brought into question.

After playing the Blue Devils to a draw for the game’s first eight minutes, Duke quickly established control, rolling to a 40-21 halftime lead on their way to a 87-52 victory in the 2K Empire Classic semifinal matchup. The Blue Devils will face Georgetown in the tournament’s championship on Friday night, while Cal will face Texas in the consolation game.

Vernon Carey scored 21 of his game-best 31 points in the first half to lead Duke, as the super frosh showed that he’s just another in a long line of youthful, but talented players to come through the Duke program.

“He’s making passes, he can put the ball on the floor. He’s playing through contact, has a good touch,” Krzyzewski said of Carey.

With the Blue Devils leading 15-11, Carey spun baseline on Cal’s Andre Kelly, took a bump, and flipped the ball in the basket with his left hand with his body almost completely under the basket. Needless to say, Carey’s gem of a basket isn’t something the Bears see everyday at practice back at Haas Pavilion.

“This is a great test for us to learn what the best looks like,” coach Mark Fox said. “They have a great team, and a very complete team.”

The Bears entered the contest with a 4-0 record–albeit against lesser competition–and a world of confidence. Fox had his team in a zone defense to start, and that seemed to give Duke some pause early. But it wasn’t long before they figured it out, and attacked the middle of the Cal defense with great success.

“Coach told us to get the ball in the middle and it would open everything up,” Carey said.

On the other end of the floor, the Bears were in trouble from the start, trying to execute their offense against Duke’s trapping defenses and quickness at every position. The numbers bore out the Pac-12 challenger’s frustration: despite trailing for the game’s final 30 minutes, Cal managed to attempt just 10 3-pointers, making four. More often than not, they dealt with Duke’s quick hands, shot blocking and rebounding.

The numbers bore out Cal’s frustration. Their rebounds (29) were a season-low, as were the 21 points they scored in the first half. Starting center Lars Thiemann fouled out in just 11 minutes of action, as the Bears committed 27 fouls, a season-high.

Eleven players got into the scoring column for Cal, but none scored in double figures. The Bears were led by Kareem South and D.J. Thorpe with eight points each.

 

 

 

Stanford freshman RB Austin Jones could break Cal fans’ hearts on Saturday

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Ana Kieu

Stanford freshman running back Austin Jones attended Bishop O’Dowd High in Oakland and most of his friends are Cal fans. On Saturday, he will play in his first Big Game and try to help Stanford break their hearts.

“I moved here in seventh grade, so I got to go to a couple games,” said Jones, who moved around a lot growing up. “I didn’t really pull for anybody, but I know it’s a heated, long-term rivalry. I just picked up on the emotion that comes with the game.”

Jones’ phone has been blowing up all week.

“I have a lot of good friends on their team,” Jones said. “We’ve been jabbing at each other a little bit and chopping it up. We’re going to get after each other.”

Neither school has produced the season it envisioned. Both have been racked by injuries as Stanford enters with a 4-6, 3-5 Pac-12 record and Cal enters with a 5-5, 2-5 Pac-12 record. The Cardinal boasts a series-high nine-game winning streak, but season records in the 121-year rivalry, often prove meaningless.

“The records don’t matter,” said senior inside linebacker Curtis Robinson, who will play for the Axe for the fourth time. “We know that we’re going to get their best shot because it’s Big Game week. It’s always that way.”

Stanford junior quarterback Davis Mills grew up in Duluth, Ga. and will experience his first start in the rivalry. He quickly discovered the significance of the contest.

“I kind of felt it right when I stepped on campus,” Mills said. “The Big Game is always circled. It should be fun to finally play in the game and I know there is a bunch of tradition behind it and all the ceremonies.”

For the last nine years, no Cardinal senior has tasted defeat.

“It’s kind of crazy to hear our coaches talking about it’s for the seniors and sitting back thinking, ‘Oh, that’s me,”’ said Robinson. “It’s been crazy to win those games with the senior classes and I’m starting to feel the importance of what this game means.”

Robinson knows he’s playing for more than his teammates.

“It means more to us to win the Axe for the Stanford community as a whole,” Robinson said. “Obviously, it’s very important to our pride as a team. But we understand we’re playing for something bigger.”

In the Stanford football office, the Andrew Luck Auditorium includes a wall of photos of seniors who have won the Big Game.

“We talk about the streak,” said Jones. “We always talk about how we don’t want to let our seniors down and want them to put their pictures on the wall.”

David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, starts off every Big Game week by reminding his team to keep emotions in check, especially the young players.

“This is a different game,” Shaw said. “We have to prepare as well as we can on the X’s and O’s side, but at the same time play with emotion and not let the emotion rule us. It will be a very hotly contested.”

Former Stanford standout Richard Sherman, now playing for the San Francisco 49ers, is pulling for his alma mater.

“The Axe belongs at Stanford,” Sherman said. “There is so much history and it’s such a great rivalry. I feel good about our chances to win it again.”

INJURY UPDATE
Senior quarterback K.J. Costello, senior free safety Malik Antoine, junior cornerback Paulson Adebo and junior tight end Tucker Fisk will not play Saturday. Senior cornerbacks Obi Eboh and Treyjohn Butler are questionable.

Freshman Ryan Sanborn handled kickoffs and field goal/extra points against Washington State but did not punt. He might be available to punt, but Shaw praised the efforts of sophomore Alex Gracey, who downed two of his three kicks inside the 5-yard line last week and could punt again.

“He did a great job,” Shaw said.

Stanford could start three true freshmen in its secondary.

“It’s all-hands on deck,” Shaw said.

MIGHTY MILLS
Mills broke a 21-year-old Stanford single-game passing record at Washington State by throwing for 504 yards.

“Davis had an exceptional game,” said Shaw. “He caught fire, got the protection and a bunch of guys made plays. He broke a record that has been around for a long time. That was a positive for the football team, but we have to do things like that and win.”

Mills made his college debut earlier this year at USC and missed some throws. Shaw said his coming out party was against Oregon State.

“He played a complete game and made some of those throws he missed against USC,” Shaw said. “He almost played better against Washington than he did this past weekend.”

The even-keeled Mills seldom shows much emotion on or off the field. Asked to assess last week’s performance, he said: “I thought overall, I played well. In the end, it would have been nice to get a win.”

Mills credited his line and receivers, and said their hard work was rewarded.

“It really showed what everybody can do,” Mills said. “We’re still chasing perfection.”

Despite all that, Shaw continues to remind himself that Mills only has four college starts.

“He’s still a growing, inexperienced quarterback with a lot of talent,” said Shaw. “He’s much, much closer to his potential, but there’s a lot more up there.”

FRIENDS FOREVER
Last week, Shaw received a text from Sherman with a photo of the two at a recent game between the 49ers and Carolina Panthers. Sherman reminded Shaw that football is only a game and Shaw shared the well-received message with his players after practice.

“It’s the truth,” said Sherman. “At the end of the day, you win some, you lose some and you fight as hard as you can. But once this game is done and the lights are off and the fans are gone, the people that are left are your friends. What’s left are the relationships that you have with the people that you went through the struggles with. Those memories and people are real, and they’ll last you a lifetime.

“At the end of the day, if you win a million championships or lose a million championships, it doesn’t change the relationships and friendship that you have. Those are special, regardless of the outcome of the games or the season.”

WONDERFUL WEAVER
Cal senior inside linebacker Evan Weaver leads the FBS with 151 tackles and averages 15.1 per game. He collected 22 stops against Utah.

Last year, Weaver made 159 tackles, second-most in school history.

“Somehow, Weaver has gotten bigger and faster,” Shaw said. “He’s the best linebacker we’ve seen all year. He just has to be accounted for and he’s hard to block.”

Asked how that can best be accomplished, Shaw said, “First of all, we hope Weaver misses the bus.”

THEME GAME
Every fan who enters Saturday’s game with a paid ticket will receive a long sleeve T-shirt courtesy of Stanford Medicine. Additionally, Stanford will honor local veterans, military, fire and police officers in conjunction with Veterans Day.

The annual Big Game Rally will be held Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium and is open to the public. The Gaieties, dating back to 1911, will be staged Wednesday through Friday at 8 pm.

NOTES
Shaw praised his team Wednesday night after a spirited practice. “I like where we are between the ears,” Shaw said … Stanford leads the overall series, 64-46-11 … Shaw is 8-0 against Cal … Former Cardinal standout safety John Lynch ’92 will be recognized as part of the 125-year celebration of Stanford football. He’s now general manager of the 49ers … Sophomore wide receiver Simi Fehoko has six touchdown catches in his last five games … The Cardinal has played 20 freshmen this season and 18 saw action last week … Saturday’s game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.

QUOTE
“You have to amp up your energy and your execution to play at your absolute best, but you also have to know where that line is. This is a respectful rivalry.” — David Shaw on playing Cal.

Sloppy Bears slip past Prairie View A&M 54-50, stay unbeaten

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The Cal Bears committed more turnovers (22) than they scored points after halftime (19) on Monday against Prairie View A&M.

That won’t cut it on Thursday when the Bears step into Madison Square Garden and face Duke.

“I thought we were poorly coached today, I thought we played poorly, and two wrongs make a wrong,” coach Mark Fox admitted. “We were fortunate to escape with a win but we have to play better basketball than we played today.”

Definitely, a learning experience for the youthful Bears. But they didn’t get their lessons in a loss. Grant Anticevich hit a big 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining, and Matt Bradley scored half of his team-best 16 points in crunch time, and somehow the Bears held on, winning 54-50.

“Nothing was going our way offensively or defensively. But we stuck it out and ended up winning,” Bradley said. “We’re 4-0 right now– I’m happy to say that.”

The Panthers qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2018-19 and are the coach’s pick to repeat as SWAC champions this season. On Monday, they took the floor without Devonte Patterson, the presumptive SWAC Player of the Year, and still gave Cal fits.

“There were times we didn’t match their intensity, which was a problem. We should’ve grabbed more rebounds, but give credit to them– they played hard.”

The biggest difference between Cal’s first three wins, and the victory over Prairie View was at the offensive end. The Bears shot a cumulative 56 percent versus Pepperdine, UNLV and Cal Baptist. On Monday, against the physical Panthers, the Bears shot 39 percent and managed just eight assists on 17 made baskets. For long stretches, the ball didn’t move and the Bears settled for jump shots.

“Hopefully some days you can win because you make jump shots but that’s not the only thing that matters in the game and I felt like we had a little bit of an immature approach offensively and our decisions with the basketball,” Fox said. “We were not very good today.”

Down 52-50 in the final moments, Prairie View had a couple of chances to tie or take the lead but couldn’t convert. Chancellor Ellis missed a 3-pointer then with eight seconds remaining, Dejuan Madden was whistled for an offensive foul.

Anticevich had 13 points, six rebounds as the only Bear other than Bradley to score in double figures. Kuany Kuany, a slender 6’9″ freshman, made his Cal debut, but overall, the Cal bench did very little, as six reserves combined to miss 15 of their 18 shots.

Ellis and Faite Williams led the Panthers with 12 points apiece.

 

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Was it a matter of Modster not getting enough protection or was USC defense just that good?

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photo from sfgate.com: Southern California’s Amon-Ra St. Brown (8) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against California during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, in Berkeley, Calif.

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris, was it just a matter of not enough offense for the Cal Bears or the USC Trojans just had a great game plan to stop the run on the Bears all day long, crushing them 41-17 at Cal Memorial on Saturday night?

#2 Talk about the job that USC quarterback Kedon Slovis did — throwing for 406 yards, going 29-35, four touchdowns. Was Slovis’ game a game that he realized Cal was going to be relatively easy to throw on?

#3 For Cal quarterback David Modster who took over for starting quarterback Chase Garbers, the Trojan defense kept him running all night. For Modster, he completed 11 out 22 passes, 95 yards, intercepted twice, and no touchdowns.

#4 Cal running back DeShawn Collins kept Cal on the scoreboard at the very least, scoring two touchdowns, carried 15 times for 103 yards and had two interceptions.

#5 Cal has lost five or their last six games. They face the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford, a game that Morris and Jeremy Harness will be covering. Morris sets up The Big Game prediction for us.

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

Not Here, Not Tonight: Slovis, Trojans overwhelm Bears in 41-17 win

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The USC Trojans dealt with adversity early, then seamlessly eased into cruise control, whipping the Cal Bears 41-17 Saturday night.

Freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis threw 406 yards and four touchdowns in a game that was tied 10-10 late in the second quarter, but quickly turned for the Trojans at that point.  Slovis connected with Michael Pittman Jr. for a 33-yard touchdown pass 43 seconds prior to halftime. Then on the opening drive of the second half Slovis hooked up with Drake London for an 8-yard score that made it 24-10.

That sequence highlighted the theme for the evening: Cal’s highly-regarded secondary was no match for the Trojans’ receivers and the crafty Slovis.

“Credit the wideouts,” USC coach Clay Helton said. “They did an elite job when they got in one-on-one situations, making big plays for the kid. When you have four touchdowns and zero interceptions, that’s a hell of a day.”

Slovis repeatedly bought time in and out of the pocket in order to make big plays downfield. London, Pittman and Amon-Ra St. Brown each had pass plays for 45 yards or more. USC would go on to reel off 31 consecutive points, turning the game into a rout.

“Our guys wanted to compete against them. I love that about them,” said head coach Justin Wilcox. “But you have to give them credit. The matchups are as tough as it’s been. I’ve seen great receivers in this league, but not a collection like that.”

While USC made highlight reel plays, the Bears struggled to keep their best players on the field. First, Christopher Brown was lost for the evening when USC’s Michael Rector delivered a vicious hit as the Bears were driving. Upon further review, Rector was hit with a targeting penalty and ejected from the game.

Chase Garbers returned to action after missing five games, and appeared sharp, as well as afforded snaps to ease into a competitive ballgame. But that scenario ended abruptly when the sophomore quarterback injured his shoulder in the second quarter and did not return.

Reserve inside linebacker Evan Tattersall was injured during a punt coverage play in which he was pushed backwards and suffered an apparent neck injury. Tattersall remained down on the field for several minutes and was taken to a local hospital. After the game, Wilcox reported that Tattersall had movement in all of his extremities and was expected to be released from the hospital.

On defense, senior safety Ashtyn Davis suffered a knee injury and did not finish the game.

The Bears have not defeated USC in Berkeley since 2003. They remain one win from Bowl eligibility with games remaining at Stanford and at UCLA.

The 122nd Big Game is up first next Saturday at 1pm.

Anticevich’s the name, 3-point buckets the game in Cal’s 82-62 win over California Baptist

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — An all-time high of 354 institutions are competing in Division I basketball this season, and California Baptist from Riverside is starting a second season at the college game’s highest level.

But let’s be honest: Nobody at Haas Pavilion knew much about the Lancers, who are competing in the Western Athletic Conference against the likes of Grand Canyon and UT Rio Grande Valley, before Friday night.

For that matter, they didn’t know much about Grant Anticevich, who had made just 11 3-pointers in his first two seasons as a Golden Bear.

Well, both Anticevich and the CBU Lancers have a little bit more notoriety now.

California Baptist earned a bit of respect by being tied at the half, and leading Cal briefly in the second half. Anticevich was noticeable much earlier, scoring 16 of his career-best 23 points in the first half. New coach Mark Fox’s clean slate appears to have provided Anticevich with an opportunity, and the 6’9″ junior is taking advantage.

“I didn’t judge any of these kids off the previous year,” said Fox, who has stated on a couple of occasions that he has 17 new players on his roster. “I haven’t looked at tape. I didn’t look at the stat sheet. I gave them all a fresh start and from day one we thought, ‘Grant’s a really good three-point shooter.’ So we built that into what we are doing because he has shot it well since we arrived, and obviously tonight he got hot.”

Anticevich was 5 for 5 from distance, keying the Bears 82-62 win that moves them to 3-0 for the first time since 2015. But he wasn’t the only hot shooter for Cal, the team shot 57 percent from the field and 54 percent from three. Matt Bradley contributed 16 points, and Kareem South 10.

Anticevich and Andre Kelly keyed Cal’s 17-0 run that put them up 68-48 with 9:36 remaining.

“I feel like offensively we changed and also our intensity,” Bradley said. “We picked it up a lot in the second half. We denied 3-point shots and we just manned up and guarded our man.”

CBU was led by Ferron Flavors Jr. with 11 points, Milan Acquaah had 10. Acquaah, the pre-season pick for WAC Player of the Year, and a transfer from Washington State missed 13 of his 16 shots from the field.

The Bears continue play in the 2K Empire Classic on Moday with Prairie View A&M visiting Haas Pavilion. The Bears then travel to Madison Square Garden for Thursday’s game against Duke.

Bouncy Bears: Cal gets the jump on UNLV down the stretch, wins 79-75 in overtime

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — Down nine points with less than eight minutes remaining, the Cal Bears needed a few elements in their game on Tuesday against UNLV.

Composure. Togetherness. Defense.

“I said the first team that starts playing defense is going to win,” California coach Mark Fox said. “I didn’t think either team particularly was great defensively in the first half. But in the second half, both teams decided to start playing defense so I think what the difference in the game was, was the turnovers. In the second half, they had 12, we had five. I thought that was really what was the deciding factor. We just kept battling, we just kept playing hard and found a way to win.”

“I think we just picked it up,” said guard Kareem South, one of four Bears in double figures with 14 points. “When it was the moment of truth, we locked it in and got stops.”

Through 30 minutes, the meeting of Rebels and Bears couldn’t have been any more even. UNLV led by two at the half (40-38) and there were 20 lead changes in the game. The teams even appeared similar in dimensions: both teams relied heavily on their guards attacking the paint against smallish, front lines.

But the game turned in the final minutes for the home team. The Bears created offense from their defense, and rode a 16-2 run spanning the end of regulation and the beginning of overtime for a 79-75 victory. After consecutive 20-loss seasons, and a coaching change, Cal is 2-0.

Donnie Tillman led UNLV with 17 points, Elijah Mitrou-Long added 16, but the Rebels couldn’t maintain their 59 percent shooting from the first half. The turnovers and missed shots down the stretch may have partially been the product of fatigue and the Rebels’ lack of depth. Four of their five starters played more than 40 minutes, Mitrou-Long and reserve Nick Blair fouled out.

“In the second half, our defense kicked in but then we had too many turnovers,” UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “We have talked a lot about it–for us to be successful we need to do those things night in and night out.”

Matt Bradley led Cal with 23 points after he scored 25 in the opener against Pepperdine. Joel Brown added 12, and Paris Austin 10 points as the Bears relied heavily on dribble penetration, shooting 21 for 36 inside the 3-point arc.

Juhwan Harris-Dyson made his season debut playing 20 minutes, contributing five points and two rebounds. His defense and veteran presence will be critical for a young team that has so little veteran experience.

The Bears next play California Baptist Friday night in the opener of the 2K Empire Classic, a series of games against scheduled opponents that will see Cal play four games in eight days, including a matchup with Duke in Madison Square Garden in New York on November 21.

Cal Bears football podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal scrapes together enough 4th quarter offense to get by WSU 33-20

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calbears.com photo: Jaylinn Hawkins hauled in his eighth career interception in the first quarter

On the Cal Bears football podcast with Morris:

#1 From looking at the score frames it looked as if the Bears played small ball and beat Washington State by a 1000 cuts on Saturday 33-20

#2 The Bears big quarter was the fourth quarter when they scored 13 points to over come the Cougars

#3 The Bears quarterback Devon Modster went 16-24 for 230 yards and three touchdowns Modster threw just well enough to beat the Cougars.

#4 For the Cal touchdowns Modster had a keeper, Christopher Brown Jr and Malai Polk both had touchdowns.

#5 With the USC Trojans coming this Saturday to Memorial this will be one of Cal’s biggest challenges and a win could help their post season chances.

Morris does the Cal podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Healthier, Wealthier: Bears finally cash in with 33-20 win over WSU ending four-game slide

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — Well, we knew coming in that previously ranked Washington State and Cal are pretty good football teams except when they aren’t.

The Cougs look bad when they can’t stop anybody, and when the Bears struggle they can’t score.  Those two storylines grew old in Pullman and Berkeley with all the losing. Since late September when WSU and Cal were both undefeated and nationally ranked, the two clubs combined for a 1-8 record.

So Saturday’s matchup offered redemption for one of the two teams, and more of the same for the other.

Who gained the upper hand?

Cal did, winning 33-20, as they welcomed back injured, offensive starters Michael Saffell, Kekoa Crawford and Devon Modster, three big reasons the Bears put up a season-best 33 points, one game after they were shutout in Salt Lake City.

“It just shows a lot of grit, coming off of a four-game losing streak,” said Modster, who threw for three scores and ran for another. “Our spirits didn’t die. We came out to work every day, and I think it showed tonight.”

The Bears scored just 24 points total in their previous three losses, but needed all of 45 seconds to find the end zone on Saturday night. Jaylinn Hawkins picked off Anthony Gordon’s first pass attempt of the game, and Christopher Brown Jr. covered 27 yards on a touchdown run one play later.

Any illusions that Cal was going to erase all its ills immediately were wiped out on the extra-point attempt when WSU’s George Hicks III scooped up a blocked kick and raced the length of the field for two points for the Cougars.

When is a touchdown not worth seven points on the scoreboard? In this case, when the Bears’ faulty place-kicking game gets involved. In that case, seven points is effectively reduced to four.

Defensively, the Bears were on point from the start, not only with Hawkins interception, but by getting off the field in a timely matter on Washington State’s next two possessions. But after tight end Gavin Reinwald fumbled trying to get extra yardage after a catch, WSU had a short field, and drew within a point on Drew Mazza’s 30-yard field goal.

Giving away points to a normally prolific WSU offense could have spelled disaster. Trailing only 6-5 after a lackluster beginning may have been the Cougars signal to bury Cal offensively, but it wasn’t. WSU committed too many penalties (10), couldn’t run the ball (16 yards on just 14 attempts) and didn’t do enough in the pass game despite racking up 407 yards passing on Gordon’s 58 pass attempts.

Instead, Cal limited WSU’s receivers after the catch, came up with Hawkins’ pick and a fumble recovery, along with a key stop early in the fourth quarter that preserved Cal’s 20-14 lead.

Meanwhile, the Bears took after halftime, as the Cougs imploded, building on their 13-11 lead at the break with a couple of big plays, most significantly, Makai Polk’s 52-yard catch-and-run that put Cal up 26-14 with 6:15 remaining. Polk, the freshman from Richmond, had just three catches all season prior to his touchdown, a moment of brilliance that saw Modster recognize the defense pre-snap, then have Polk take advantage after catching a simple screen pass.

“They were (in) cover zero and I knew it was going to be a big gain, but I didn’t know if it was going to be a touchdown or not,” Modster recalled. “But right when I threw it I saw a huge hole and Makai just did all the rest.”

The Bears are back in the postseason mix if they can gain at least one more win in their final three games. USC comes to Berkeley on Saturday, then the Bears visit Stanford. Both teams have been vulnerable at points this season, and Cal could benefit greatly if that resurfaces for either opponent. Bringing to an end the nine consecutive losses to Stanford probably is especially enticing to the Bears.

 

Bears start Coach Fox off with an impressive 87-71 win over Pepperdine

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY — After a pair of last place finishes in the Pac-12, a coaching change, and a great deal of personnel upheaval, the Cal Bears looked like a breath of fresh air in dispatching Pepperdine 87-71 in their season opener.

Coach Mark Fox, how about that improvement from last year’s 8-23 nightmare?

“I don’t know what happened last year,” Fox said emphatically. “We won’t even look at it.”

If anything can be learned at this early stage about Fox, who coached previously at Nevada and Georgia, he’s exceedingly positive while being extremely demanding. So far, 17 players, none of them new to the program–or old–according to Fox, have bought in.

Simply, the Bears are an empty slate, neither doomed to their recent past or promised to be improved. So far, improvement appears to be the path based on their come-from-behind win against the Waves.

Matt Bradley scored 25 points, and Paris Austin came up with 14 points, three assists keying a 52-point second half that carried the Bears after they trailed Pepperdine 37-35 at the half.

Andre Kelly, the beneficiary of some nifty passes from Austin, and newcomer Kareem South were Cal’s two other double-digit scorers, coming up with 16 points and 14 points respectively.

The Bears trailed by as many as seven points in the first half, and were still behind 49-46 with 14:35 remaining when Pepperdine went scoreless for five minutes and Cal took control. Bradley and Austin each scored six points in a 17-0 run that put the Bears up 63-49 with 10:05 remaining. The Waves banked on their 3-point shooting and lost, missing 19 of their final 25 attempts from distance.

Bradley experienced foul trouble in the opening 20 minutes and sat for a long stretch. But the second half was all his. The sophomore finished 8 for 11 from the field and made 5 of his 7 attempts from distance.

“I said, `Now you’re not in foul trouble. You can go and be aggressive and just play like you’ve practiced,'” Fox said of his halftime directive to Bradley.  “And to his credit he did just that.”

“When I came back in the second half it was second nature,” Bradley said. “I wasn’t really thinking much, I was just playing and felt really good.”

If the Bears have a focal point offensively, it undoubtedly would be the burly Bradley. The 6’4″ guard has started his Cal career by making 55 of 113 3-point attempts. On Tuesday, Bradley matched his career-best with five made threes.

Austin came off the bench and repeatedly burned the Waves with his dribble penetration and ability to finish. Remarkably, Austin registered just three assists even as it seemed had much more with his composed approach and pinpoint passing.

Colbey Ross led the Waves with 19 points, seven assists, but 17 of those came before halftime. Sophomore Kessler Edwards paced Pepperdine in the second half, scoring 15 of his 18 points after the break.

The Bears appear to be a much deeper and more balanced team than they were in 2018-19 as nine players saw action Tuesday.  They also expect to get big contributions from forward Kuany Kuany and big guard Juhwan Harris-Dyson, neither of whom played against Pepperdine. Fox hinted that the pair could return from injury rather soon with the Bears next scheduled to host UNLV on November 12.