Tag: California Golden Bears

By Morris Phillips

This time the present-and-accounted-for Cal Bears made plays and got stops at the Fort Myers Tip-Off… with the exception of the final 83 seconds.

Cal–in their best performance yet–pulled even with No. 21 Seton Hall on Grant Anticevich’s made free throw only to lose 62-59 seconds later when they couldn’t convert on any of their last three possessions.

“I thought we played really, really well,” coach Mark Fox said. “We just didn’t close it.”

The Bears got big performances from Anticevich and Andre Kelly who combined for 38 of their 59 points, but they allowed their second consecutive ranked opponent to escape what would have been an embarrassing defeat.

“No matter what, you get out of here 1-1 and two months from now it’s not going to matter what the score was,” Pirates coach Kevin Willard said.

The Bears needed Seton Hall to struggle offensively in part due to the Pirates’ misfortune, but also attributable to Cal’s defense along with their deliberate, offensive pace. And all three transpired along with Cal’s two leaders having big nights. A 10-2 run in the first ten minutes after halftime, gave Cal a 39-38 lead, and put Seton Hall on their heels.

A pair of made free throws from Kelly with 4:39 remaining gave Cal its biggest lead, 56-51, but they couldn’t sustain it. When Cal went scoreless for two minutes plus, Ohio State transfer Bryce Aiken strung together five points in 6-0 run that allowed the Pirates to regain the lead.

Two more made free throws from Kelly put Cal in front again, and seconds later Anticevich’s first of two free throws got Cal even at 59. But Anticevich missed the second, and a three with seven seconds left. Jalen Celestine missed a three early in a shot clock with 42 seconds to go. And with three seconds remaining, Joel Brown could convert his first free throw before purposely missing the second. Brown ended up on the charity stripe when Seton Hall elected to foul leading by three and less than 10 seconds left.

“Grant’s a great shooter and I want him to take that shot every time,” Fox said. “I thought we executed it well, it just didn’t go in.”

“I thought we played really well against a nationally-ranked team. We obviously had some possessions where we had some turnovers that lead to baskets, and those are costly errors. I thought we competed well.”

Jared Rhoden scored 21 points, and Kadary Richmond added 12 for Seton Hall. Alexis Yetna and Tyrese Samuel each scored 10 points as Seton Hall improved to 4-1.

The Pirates shot 34 percent from the floor, and 22 percent from three. They bailed themselves out by making 24 of 30 free throw attempts.

“We’re trying to make things happen instead of letting things happen,” Willard said.

The Bears fell to 2-4 and they return home to Haas Pavilion on Sunday to host Fresno State at 7:00 p.m.

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Andre Kelly tallied 11 of California’s 18 overtime points, and the Bears escaped with a 75-68 double overtime win over Southern Utah at Haas Pavilion on Thursday.

Kelly finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds to pace Cal with John Knight III leading Southern Utah with 31 points. While Kelly heated up late to rescue Cal from an offensive standpoint, Knight was held scoreless over the final 3:41 of regulation, and the first 9 minutes, 32 seconds of the two overtime periods. When Knight was cooking–he had 12 of his 31 in the second half–the Thunderbirds built a 44-34 lead with 13:41 remaining, necessitating a furious run and come back by the Bears to force overtime.

Bears’ coach Mark Fox turned to 6’7″ freshman Sam Alajiki during this stretch to guard Knight. That prompted a 8-0 run to get Cal within two, and also got the Bears some relief from Knight’s hot shooting.

“We were having a real hard time with that kid’s strength,” Fox said of his decision to insert Alajiki. “Sam is a real strong and powerful guy, we went with that lineup and he did a great job.”

The Bears drew even at 46 with 8:48 remaining, and again at 51 on Kelly’s layup with 4:40 remaining. But they didn’t experience a lead in the second half until Grant Anticevich hit a jumper with 28 seconds left. Maizen Fausett followed with a layup to force overtime for Southern Utah. Joel Brown’s layup attempt at the buzzer was blocked by SUU’s Dre Marin.

Cal had not experienced an overtime game since February 2020 when they beat Utah 86-79. The Bears moved to 4-0 in overtime contests with Fox as their coach.

Southern Utah hadn’t endured a two-overtime game since their 2019 victory over Nebraska. Knight led the Thunderbirds in floor time with 49 minutes. Three other Southern Utah starters logged at least 44 minutes, and coach Todd Simon only got three points all evening from his bench.

Kelly was a gametime decision due to an ankle injury, but he responded with 11 of 16 shooting from the floor. He also buried a 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining in the second overtime to give Cal its biggest lead, 73-65.

Andre had a very productive night,” Fox said. “I still think he can play a lot better.”

Anticevich had 15 points, eight rebounds and Brown played a team-most 46 minutes. He had seven assists, five rebounds but struggled with his shot. Brown finished with four points on 1 of 7 shooting.

Southern Utah got 14 points, eight rebounds from Fausett and Tevian Jones had 11 points, five rebounds. Jones was 0 of 6 from three, part of a subpar team effort from distance in which SUU missed 22 of 27 three attempts.

The Bears continue competition in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida on November 22 where they will meet No. 24 Florida. The Gators won easily on Thursday, defeating Milwaukee 81-45.

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Defend and start the season in the win column were the objectives for the Cal Bears, and neither were met.

Toni Rocak, the 6’8″ senior from Switzerland, had 27 points, eight rebounds as the UC San Diego Tritons, in year two of their four-year transition from Division II to Division I, pulled the upset on the Bears at Haas Pavilion, 80-67. The Tritons trailed 37-33 at the half, but took the lead in the first five minutes after the break, and maintained it, in a 47-point outburst that was littered with Cal defensive breakdowns.

The Bears were led by Jordan Shepherd, the transfer from Charlotte, who had 27 points, and Andre Kelly with 17. The Bears started fast, building a 28-17 first half lead, but led by just four at the break, and scored just 30 points in the second half. Cal didn’t settle for threes, making five of 18, but they were most hurt at the free throw line where they missed 10 of their 24 attempts. Cal shot 45 percent from the floor during the opening 20 minutes, only attempting 10 3-pointers, making three.

Rocak paced the Tritons in the opening half with 16 points, including four of six from the line. Rocak averaged just 12.8 points in 2020-21 in 17 minutes per game, and apparently is enjoying a bigger role with UCSD this time around. The Tritons opened the second half on a run, gaining a 45-43 advantage with 15:05 remaining. They held only one lead in the game’s first 25 minutes–2-0.

“We stuck with what we know and what we do and kept trusting each other,” Rocak said. “In those moments it’s easy for everybody to try to do their own thing but we stuck with being in group and being unselfish, and great things happen when we share the basketball.”

The Bears were heavily dependent on the quartet of Joel Brown, Grant Anticevich, Kelly and Shepherd with 6’9″ Kuany Kuany the fifth starter who logged just 13 minutes. 6’3″ guard Jarred Hyder was the first reserve off the bench, playing 15 minutes, and holdover Dimitrios Klonaras along with 6’7″ freshman Sam Alajiki were the remainder of the eight-man rotation. Junior center Lars Thiemann and freshman Obinna Anyanwu saw five minutes of action each, with Jared Celestine and Makale Foreman as the two most conspicuous absences from the Cal rotation.

“We just have to be sharper,” Kelly said of his Bears. “It was the first time with this group together. We’ll bounce back. We’ll respond the right way.”

“I’m very disappointed in our team’s play today,” Cal coach Mark Fox said. “It’s my responsibility to get it cleaned up and make sure this doesn’t define our season.”

Further information could clear up the status of Celestine and Foreman, both of whom played extensively in 2020-21, and are expected to be significant contributors going forward.

The Tritons got 18 points from Bryce Pope, and 10 from Matt Gray, who received his first ever starting assignment. Freshman Francis Nwaokorie was the most significant UCSD reserve, scoring nine points before fouling out in his first collegiate game. The win was UCSD’s first against a Pac-12 opponent, they had been 0-12 against Pac-12 competition previously. They also captured their first ever road win since transitioning to Division I. They went 0-7 last season. The Tritons and the Bears had met just four times previously with the last meeting in 1985.

The Tritons welcomed six new faces to their roster but it mattered little when the game was on the line. The Bears shot just 40 percent for the game as their offense and defense wilted in the second half.

The Bears travel to Las Vegas on Saturday to face the UNLV Rebels at 5pm. The first road contest of their season will be televised on the Stadium network.