Category: Cal Bears

Cal Bears Basketball Podcast with Morris Phillips: 11 years in the waiting first time USC & UCLA knocks off Cal; It was an easy win for UCLA

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Photo credit: TheAthletic.com

On the Cal Basketball Podcast with Morris:

1 First time in 11 years that Cal is beaten by USC and UCLA

2 The Trojans and the Bruins didn’t have to put up too much sweat in facing Cal this week

3 UCLA got a 13-2 start on Cal from the opening tip in their 107-84 win

4 The 107 points and 17 threes were UCLA’s best offensive effort of the season

5 As Cal licks its wound and prepares for Washington Thursday and Washington State on Saturday

Morris Phillips covers Cal Bears Men’s Basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Beat LA? Not Cal: Bears get swept by USC and UCLA at home for first time in 11 years

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Photo courtesy of Kelley L. Cox/KLC Fotos

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–For the first time in more than a decade, both UCLA and USC have victories at Haas Pavilion in the same season. And with the Cal Bears still struggling to find their footing against Pac-12 competition, neither the Bruins or Trojans had to sweat.

UCLA got their opportunity to take advantage of the Bears on Saturday afternoon, and did so from the opening tip, racing to a 13-2 to advantage on their way to a 107-84 win, featuring a season-best 13 made three-pointers. The 107 points and 17 threes were both season-bests for the Bruins, while the defenseless Bears allowed at least 90 points in a game for the sixth time this season.

Thomas Welsh led the Bruins with 19 points, 14 rebounds despite playing with a protective mask for the first time following a collision with Stanford’s Reid Travis on Thursday. Aaron Holiday added 21 points and freshman Kris Wilkes had 16 as six Bruins scored in double figures. UCLA bounced back from a crushing double overtime loss at Stanford on Thursday with 58 percent shooting from the floor against Cal.

“That’s key especially playing on the road in the Pac 12,” Welsh said. “You have to get ahead early and I think we did a good job of that tonight.”

The Bears were led by Justice Sueing with 22 points, and Marcus Lee with 19 points, 15 rebounds. But the home team’s offense was absent in UCLA’s quick start, as Cal shot just 26 percent in the first half while falling behind 54-33.

“We try to put the best lineup out there to give us the best fight, give us the best chance from the start of the game,” coach Wyking Jones said. “You see me juggling the lineups a bit, so we can put guys out there that will bring it from the start. It’s just a situation that for some reason, we don’t have good starts. We weren’t aggressive in the first half, we didn’t look to attack the zone like we did in the second half.”

The Bears (7-9, 1-2 in Pac-12 play) dropped two at home after winning four of five, including their stirring comeback at Stanford last week. Unlike their tentative effort against Trojans, the Bears were scrappy and determined, making a brief, second half run that cut UCLA’s lead to 13 at one point. But the Bruins seized control again, by making 9 of 11 from distance in the second half to pull away.

The Bears travel to Seattle on Thursday to meet Washington.  It will mark the Bears’ second trip to the Emerald City in less than a month, after an earlier road win over  Seattle University.

Slow start, turnovers lead to USC rout of Cal in Pac-12 home opener 80-62

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Jonescalbears.com photo: Cal Bears head coach Wyking Jones during recent press conference

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–The pained look on Coach Wyking Jones’ face said it all. The question regarding repeated slow starts for Jones’ California Golden Bears, especially at Haas Pavilion, was fair given that Cal scored just eight points in the first 10 minutes of Thursday’s disappointing 80-62 loss to USC.

And Jones’ response? As honest and revealing as any Division I basketball coach ever wants to be or has to be when admitting his team was outclassed.

“It’s frustrating, but our guys aren’t trying to do that,” Jones said. “They are trying to do the right thing. They are young, it’s a process, and we have to just focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. These guys who are freshman are going to be sophomores next year, and then juniors and then seniors, and really good. You have to focus on what the light at the end of the tunnel is as opposed to what’s going on right now.”

What’s going on for Cal right now is a youth-laden club without a forceful, ball handling leader is taking its lumps.  USC, a pre-season Top 25 pick that’s dealing with a recruiting scandal and its own shortcomings, may have been the last opponent the Bears wanted to see on the occasion of their Pac-12 home opener. Those lumps Cal’s taking were hand delivered by the Trojans on Thursday.

USC’s zone look with arms and hands everywhere befuddled the Bears to the tune 22 turnovers juxtaposed against just 13 assists on 23 made baskets.  Of those 23 baskets, only eight came in the first half when Cal fell behind by 26 points (38-12 with 1:54 remaining).  The deficit grew to 30 points briefly in the second half as Cal’s issues offensively morphed into defensive indifference.  While the final score was more palatable, this marked the third time this season Cal has lost by 18 or more points at home this season.

If the light at the end of the tunnel that Coach Jones spoke of was to be interpreted literally, it would have been one lit candle at the western most juncture of BART’s Transbay Tube on Thursday.

“We have another game on Saturday against UCLA so we have to move past this and regather tomorrow morning, and prepare for UCLA,” said freshman Justice Sueing, who led the Bears with 15 points.

In fairness to the Bears, the Trojans are the last team a struggling outfit wants to see. Just ask USC’s most recent opponent Washington State.  With the Cougars methodically trying to regain their footing against the Trojans on New Years’ Eve after a first half that was as poor as Cal’s, WSU cut USC’s lead to just eight points. But on the next six possessions, Washington State committed five turnovers and saw their deficit balloon to 18 points in less than the three minutes that elapsed on the game clock.

Against Cal, USC’s zone caused the Bears to be extremely tentative to the point that guards Don Coleman and Darius McNeill became non-factors in the first 25 minutes of the game.  Cal’s normally high scoring guards combined to miss 13 of their 16 shots while committing six turnovers.  While McNeill found a way to extend his impressive streak of hitting at least one three-pointer in 14 of his 15 games as a collegian, his penetration into the paint was almost non-existent.

Marcus Lee had an impressive start offensively with a follow dunk and a couple of other buckets from point blank range, but five turnovers and foul trouble kept the Kentucky transfer from making much of a difference as the game progressed.

The Trojans were led by Nick Rakocevic with 19 points. Bennie Boatwright added 15 points, and Jordan Usher had 14 off the bench for USC.

Chimezie Metu was suspended for the first 20 minutes for his actions against Washington State in which cameras caught the 6’10” junior jabbing an opponent in the groin. Metu played 11 minutes in the second half, in which his epic dunk over Lee immediately triggered a SportsCenter alert all the way across the country at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

The Bears return to the hardwood on Saturday when UCLA visits Haas Pavilion at 3:30pm.

Cal Bears Podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Cal win last Saturday at Stanford could help Cal turn the page

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–Cal did kind of a shocking thing being down 17 points behind Stanford last Saturday, down 11 points with 3:29 to play and they pulled it out in regulation and beat the Cardinal on Stanford’s home floor 74-71. 18 points in that last three minutes in 29 seconds. Cal scored 11 out of their last 13 possessions and to say a win like that is rare is an understatement.

When you think about the history of Cal at Maples Pavilion visiting Stanford and all of the struggles this might be one for the ages but definitely one that will last in the memory for quite awhile and for a team this young another building block for them to take and grow with. With 3:29 to play, FS1 broadcaster Steve Levin said Cal was trying to get it into single digits.

The Bears have a tough task coming as they face USC this Thursday and UCLA on Saturday.

Morris and Michael do the Cal podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Cal Bears Basketball Podcast with Morris Phillips: Bears hoping that come back game at Stanford can set the tone for USC Thursday

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

On the Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris:

1 The Bears down to Stanford by 17 points in the first half and came back before the end of the half, figuring out Stanford’s defense.

2 Cal head coach Wyking Jones settled the team down and said they ended up dribbling the ball a whole lot better.

3 Stanford’s Maples Pavilion has always been a tough place for the Bears to battle and Saturday was almost no different, but Jones got the players believing in themselves and they turned it around.

4 After a 25 point loss to Portland State and previous loses to Central Arkansas, Cal State Northridge and Charminade they needed a win like this as a confidence booster.

5 Cal now hosts USC on Thursday and UCLA on Saturday, which are two great challenges on the home schedule for the Golden Bears.

Morris covers Cal basketball and does the weekly podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal’s rollercoaster season continues in Pac-12 opening win at Stanford

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Stanford forward Michael Humphrey (10) battles for a loose ball against California guard Don Coleman (14) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

 

By Morris Phillips

The switch operating the team performance appliance for Cal basketball didn’t get flipped until less than 10 minutes remained in Saturday’s conference opener at Stanford.

But once switched, the effect was immediate.

The Bears’ zone defense that was ineffective from the start disappeared. A menacing man-to-man scheme took its place. Despite a 17-point halftime deficit, the belief returned. And then the made baskets, one after another.

“Once our guys got settled in and saw what they were trying to do, we started doing a better job of containing them off the dribble,” Coach Wyking Jones said of the comeback that would wipe out Stanford’s big lead in the final seven minutes of the game.
“Nick Hamilton came in and really gave us a spark. His energy and enthusiasm–the other guys feed off of it. Once we did a better job of keeping them off the offensive glass, it worked out for us.”

For Cal, winning at Maples Pavilion has never been easy. Mike Montgomery did it on his initial visit as the opposing coach, then suffered a slew of losses in the ensuing years.  Jaylen Brown didn’t win at Stanford in his one opportunity. Ivan Rabb got two shots and came up empty. Jason Kidd won at Maples once–at the time it felt like the breakthrough of the century.

And this edition of California basketball coming off an embarrassing 25-point loss to Portland State at home, not to mention similar defeats at the hands of Central Arkansas, Cal State Northridge and Chaminade? They put on their super hero capes and pulled off a tremendous finish that gathered the collective strengths of a group that had been up and down throughout the non-conference slate.

Marcus Lee overcame early foul trouble and, along with Kingsley Okoroh, anchored the defense late. Lee finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Justice Sueing scored eight points in the final three minutes. And little utilized freshman Grant Anticevich canned a key three-pointer down the stretch.

And in a battle of struggling clubs grasping for 40 minutes of consistency, the Bears came up with 10 minutes of winning play that they’re unlikely to forget.

Cal Bears Podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Cal trying to put bad taste of Portland State behind them; Stanford up next at the Farm

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AP File: California guard Don Coleman (14) scored 19 points brings the ball up court during NCAA Men’s Basketball game between Portland State Vikings and California Golden Bears 81-106 lost at Hass Pavilion Berkeley Calif. Thurman James / CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–The game that Portland State and Cal played on Thursday, December 21st at Haas Pavilion wound up as a Vikings’ 106-81 win. Before that game, the Bears who were on a two game streak were looking good and making some progress they were getting better each time out they pulled themselves to a .500 record at 6-6. Then they laid a whole clutch of eggs right before Christmas time.

It’s almost as if they went out and scheduled mid majors that were guaranteed to shock assessing the case of Portland State and Central Arkansas who the Bears hosted in Berkeley these are good teams. It’s just not pigeonholed into some kind of fodder for a power five conference team. So Cal got the brunt of that. The unfortunate thing is they got the brunt of it at home, in the first half, in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Bears simply struggled against this opponent.

Morris and Michael have much more on the Cal Bears Basketball Podcast and each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears Basketball Podcast with Morris Phillips: After big defeat to Portland State a look how Cal gets ready to play at Stanford on Saturday

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AP Photo File: Wyking Jones fields questions during a NCAA college basketball press conference to announce his new appointment as California men’s basketball coach Wednesday, March 29, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Cal Bears Basketball Podcast with Morris Phillips:

1 Saturday 30th The Big Game for Cal (6-7) will be playing at the farm at Stanford (6-7) Morris takes a look at what Cal needs to do to prepare for this one

2 In their last game they hosted the Portland Vikings only to lost 106-81

3 The Bears started out the fist half slowly but in the first two minutes the Vikings held a nine point lead

4 No Bears players converted a three point shot in the first half and trailed most of the first half by at least 20 points

5 For Cal head coach Wyking Jones whose coming off the loss with Portland State how much preparation will have to go into getting ready for Stanford

Morris does the Cal Bears each Monday and on Tuesday with Michael Duca at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Cal Bears fall to Portland State Vikings 106-81 before Christmas

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Photo: @CalMBBall

By Alexandra Evans

BERKELEY—The California Golden Bears (6-6) faced their last out-of-conference opponent, the Portland State Vikings (9-3), who defeated them 106-81 at Haas Pavilion on Thursday evening. 

The first half started off slow for the Golden Bears effective immediately. Within the first two minutes, the team was down by nine points. At the halfway point, they were down 13. With six minutes left, McNeill, Deschon Winston, and Marcus Lee brought the Bears’ score to 24. At that point, PSU had 39 points, but Cal was no longer trailing by more than half their score. That did not last long, as PSU brought their lead up to double Cal’s score (48-24) with 3:40 remaining. At the end of the first 20 minutes, PSU led Cal 56-37. There were few moments where Cal trailed by fewer than 20 points, and no Bears players made any three-pointers in the first half.

Cal was evidently determined to pick things up as the second half commenced, but PSU was just unstoppable. Six minutes in, the Vikings brought their score up by 16 points, compared to the Bears’ eight-point increase, for a score of 72-45. PSU held their 20+ point lead over Cal through the entire second half, even knocking on a 30-point lead here and there. With three and a half minutes left, Bryce Canda made a three-pointer to bring PSU’s score to an even 100, while Cal still trailed with 74 points. This was the first time in nearly seven years (since February 10, 2011 against the University of Washington) that the Bears allowed 100 points in a single game.

Don Coleman led the Bears in points tonight with 19, the seventh time he has exceeded the team this season, and the 12th time in 13 games, he has hit double digits in points. Winston tallied 10 points, a career-peak, and Nick Hamilton made five rebounds, which was a career-peak for him.

Next, the Cal Bears will face their conference rival, the Stanford Cardinal, in Palo Alto on Saturday, December 30. Stay tuned for coverage from me that night!

Growing Up: Cal Bears show well at Seattle in 22-point victory

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Seattle_SueingColeman2

By Morris Phillips

Darius McNeill continues to impress for the youthful Cal Bears.

After a scoreless first half the freshman from Houston got it cooking, finishing with a team-best 20 points in Cal’s comfortable 81-59 win over Seattle.

In his first 12 games, McNeill has made a seamless transition to college basketball by averaging 13.7 points a game while shooting 52 percent from the field, 72 percent from the foul stripe, and 48 percent from three. McNeill has at least one made three in every game he’s played.

And McNeill is not alone.  Freshman Justice Sueing has started 11 games and is shooting 49 percent from the field, and 38 percent from three.  Sueing had 17 on Tuesday, playing 36 minutes, his longest floor time stint thus far. And Juhwan Harris-Dyson played 21 minutes off the bench, scoring six, grabbing six boards.

“We’re young, but the guys are picking up what we’re telling them to do,” coach Wyking Jones said. “They’re giving us great effort. It’s just a learning process for these young guys. Now, we’ve got two road wins, we got an overtime win in the last game, so they’re maturing. They’re maturing at a fast rate right now.”

What’s more telling is the young and old Bears alike didn’t forsake their defensive effort, holding Seattle to 33 percent shooting, one game after the Redhawks buried 16 3-pointers against Portland.  Seattle faced adversity early, going more than 4 1/2 minutes scoreless to start the game.

Matej Kavas led Seattle with 20 points, and Richaud Gittens added 11.

“For whatever reason, I think our guys thought tonight was going to be a little easier than it was,” Seattle coach Jim Hayford said. “In the first half, we really struggled offensively, but we were tough enough to stay in there. Then we kind of hit a point where our shots weren’t falling, and then we let our guard down and then the game got away from us.”

Cal led by six at the half, and streteched that lead to 20 with 6:15 remaining.  The Bears conclude non-conference play on Thursday at home against Portland State.