Tag: California Golden Bears

Cal gets past Seattle U. in the game’s final minutes, 70-65

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Handpicked opponents with balky jump shots and limited confidence delivered to your main gym entrance at a moment’s notice?

Well, this isn’t Grubhub or Uber Eats, the Golden Bears can testify to that.

Instead of skating through the promenade entrance of the Conte Forum on the Boston College campus in near freezing temperatures, the Cal Bears heeded the words of their local medical experts, and spent Tuesday afternoon close to home at Haas Pavilion. After canceling with BC, the Redhawks from Seattle agreed to be Cal’s opponent in a hastily arranged matchup.

However, the Redhawks didn’t agree to be pliable or vulnerable–anything but.

Coach Jim Hayford saw his Redhawks lead for the game’s first 33 minutes only to go scoreless for five of the final six minutes allowing Joel Brown and the Bears to seize control in a 70-65 win.

“It came right down to the last four minutes and you have to credit Joel Brown,” Hayford said. “His two threes were clutch and  at the end of the shot clock after we played really good defense. He made the two winning plays that really were the difference in this game.”

The Bears again played without leading scorers Matt Bradley and Grant Anticevich. That meant others had to step up and Brown, Kuany Kuany along with Ryan Betley answered the call.

Betley led the Bears with 17 points, but Kuany’s contribution (11 points tying his career best) was a welcome surprise as was Brown’s star turn down the stretch.

With the shot clock almost expired, Brown hit a 3-pointer to put Cal up 60-59 with 3:31 remaining. Then after both teams fell into neutral offensively for several possessions, Brown struck again with a three that put Cal up 63-59 with 2:01 remaining.

“Those were huge baskets for us, no question about it,” coach Mark Fox said of Brown.

Brown’s baskets were part of a 10-0 run that saw the Bears go from down two to up eight with 31 seconds to go.

In the closing run, reliable Redhawks Riley Grigsby (20 points, son of former Cal standout Alfred Grigsby), Emeka Udenyi (prepped at De La Salle Concord) and Darrion Trammell (St. Ignatius San Francisco) missed big shots, ending what had been an impressive afternoon for the trio.

The Bears (5-4, 0-2) are over .500 for the first time in over a year. They next see action on New Years Eve at Oregon in a matchup with the conference favorite Ducks.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Without Bradley and Anticevich Bears still crush Cal State Northridge; Bears host Redhawks Tuesday afternoon

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Cal Bears Jerod Hyder (3) takes the ball against the Cal State Northridge defense on Sat Dec 19, 2020 at Haas Pavilion (bearinsider.com photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 How impressive was it for the Cal Bears (4-4) to get a 87-56 win over the visiting Cal State Northridge without the use of Matt Bradley (knee injury) and Grant Anticevich  (appendectomy surgery).

#2 Ryan Betley and Makale Foreman who are graduate transfers their contribution to the offense on Saturday was impressive combining with 42 points.

#3 Morris, talk about Betley and Foreman’s hitting nine three pointers they just about had their way with Cal State Northridge.

#4 The win for Cal was their most impressive shooting 60 percent this being their most convincing win since Feb 2017 when they defeated Oregon State.

#5 Seattle University Redhawks (4-4) is in Tuesday afternoon at 2pm at Haas Pavilion. The Redhawks have lost three of their last four games. The Hawks won their last game against Northwest University 89-40. Morris talk about how you see Tuesday’s match up.

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

Cal offense sharp despite absence of top two scorers, rout Northridge 87-56

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–A late announcement reveals the Cal Bears to be without their top two offensive threats.

In 2020, that’s par for the course. You must adjust.

With Matt Bradley dealing with a knee injury, and Grant Anticevich out after appendectomy surgery, the offensively-challenged Bears had few places to turn. Fortunately, two of those places were to graduate transfers Ryan Betley and Makale Foreman.

Foreman and Betley–arguably more impressive and consistent than Anticevich and Bradley thus far–answered the call. The duo combined for 42 points, making nine 3-pointers, in what was ironically Cal’s best offensive performance to date, an 87-56 rout of Cal State Northridge.

“I thought we did a lot of things that were really sound, and allowed us to build a lead, play from in front and get some young guys some experience,” coach Mark Fox said.

The Bears shot 60 percent from the field and registered their most convincing win since beating Oregon State in February 2017. Coming in, the Bears were shooting just 43 percent from the floor in averaging 65 points per game.

Joel Brown had his best game of the season with 10 points, shooting a perfect 5 for 5 from the field. Jarret Hyder, the Fresno State transfer, made his Cal debut with six points in 18 minutes off the bench. Lars Thiemann and Andre Kelly were Cal’s replacement starters and both registered exemplary games.

Not surprisingly, the Matadors, who agreed to play Cal earlier this week, weren’t pleased with their play. Besides their far too accomodating defense, they shot 35 percent and committed 17 turnovers.

“We’re a lot better and I believe we can be better,” coach Mark Gottfried said. “We turned the ball over a lot, we took bad shots, our shot selection was poor, I thought defensively we had a hard time containing the dribble and they blew right by us a number of times.”

TJ Starks, the Matadors leading scorer, was held to 13 points, and Atin Wright added 10.

Cal (4-4, 0-2) concludes its fluidly constructed non-conference schedule on Tuesday with a visit from Seattle U. Redhawks at 2pm.

Cal Bears men basketball podcast with Michael Duca: Boston trip scratched out of precaution; Home games planned for the 19th and 22

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Cal had lots to celebrate on Sun Dec 13th at Haas Pavilion with a three point buzzer beater from Makale Foreman to get a two point 72-70 win over the USF Dons at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (calbears.com photo)

Cal Bears mens basketball podcast:

#1 The Cal MBB (3-4) trip to Boston College (1-5) has been canceled as a Cal statement said “out of an abundance of caution” neither school has registered any positive test for Covid 19. The game was scheduled for Dec 22 but now Cal will play a home game against Seattle University.

#2 Michael, Cal’s last game still a subject of discussion that incredible upset win over the USF Dons (5-3) I know you had a chance to see it when Makale Foreman took a three point shoot in the closing minute that won it for Cal.

#3 Taking a look at the game against USF did Cal head coach Mark Fox do somethings to tweak the offense and this is a team that didn’t panic but played up to the opponent and pretty much stayed with one of the best college teams.

#4 Cal has got some help from Grant Anticevich (18) and Matt Bradley (17) the Bears will certainly rely on them this season to provide offense and scoring.

#5 Cal has added two home games Dec 19 vs. CSUN and Dec 22 against Seattle University it has to be a relief for all involved that Cal doesn’t have to make that cross country to trip to Boston.

Join Michael for Cal basketball podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Bears come to life in second half get big win over USF by a bucket

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An aerial shot of the Cal Bears Mikael Foreman taking the winning shot for three points at the buzzer sinks a win for Cal over the USF Dons at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (@CalMBBall photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris the Cal Bears got an unexpected win over the USF Dons (5-3) on Saturday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley was this one as good as it gets?

#2 The Dons put on an offensive performance in the first half with a 37-29 but in the second half the Bears came out and turned things around outscoring the Dons by ten 43-33.

#3 Morris, what fired up the Bears to play such a second half like that. They brought in a three game losing streak and that included their recent loss at Pepperdine. There were some doubters regarding Cal before this one started.

# 4 Speaking of that second half the Bears got offensive help from Grant Anticevich 18 pts, Andre Kelly 22 pts and Matt Bradley 17 pts the offense distributed nicely and coach Mark Fox had to be relieved by his players who finished in double digits.

#5 The Bears next are at Boston College Dec 22 who are 1-5, 15th in the ACC. BC has a four game losing streak. Coming off this win against the Dons after losing three straight before which Bears team will show up on Dec 22?

Join Morris Phillips for Cal Basketball podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Foreman’s shot at the buzzer gives Cal their only lead in 72-70 win over USF

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–“Sometimes, you gotta do more,” said Cal coach Mark Fox.

Fox certainly got more grit and determination from his Bears in an improbable 72-70 win over USF at Haas Pavilion on Sunday. Makale Foreman’s 3-point basket just a fraction of a second before the final horn gave the Bears the win and their only lead of the day.

After a string of disappointing losses the Bears played smarter, harder and more efficiently against the Dons. But it didn’t amount to much until the game’s final play. In the final eight seconds Cal rushed the ball up the full length of the floor with Matt Bradley passing to Grant Anticevich then to Foreman at the 3-point arc just ahead of the final buzzer.

The Bears showed tremendous patience in getting the ball to their graduate transfer Foreman, the team’s only high percentage option from distance. By backing up four feet beyond the arc Foreman created the needed distance to avoid the lunging defender Jamaree Bouyea.

Ironically, Foreman had missed all five of his previous 3-point attempts and six shots in all.

A big factor in the win was Fox getting his team to reduce its shot attempts from distance after they fell to 242nd nationally (out of 315) in 3-point efficiency. In the meantime, Fox continued to encourage Foreman, the eighth most prolific 3-point shooter last season at Stony Brook, to look for his shot.

“He’s a great shooter,” Fox said of Foreman. “The decreased practice time has hurt him.”

The rest of Foreman’s took just nine threes (making five) and instead focused on getting the ball to the basket and drawing fouls. That strategy paid off as Andre Kelly scored a season-high 22 points and the Bears got to the line 23 times (making 16).

Anticevich and Bradley certainly did more, making tough shots with defenders draped on them from inside and out. The senior forward finished with a team-best 18 points and Bradley added 17.

The Dons scored the game’s first five points and led for 39 minutes only to be caught. Bouyea led all scorers with 24 and Kahlil Shabazz added 21. Bouyea went spectacular with his buzzer beater from 65 feet that gave USF a 37-28 halftime lead.

“I thought we played well enough to win, but not well enough to guarantee victory,” USF coach Todd Golden said. 

The Dons were attempting to beat Cal for an unprecedented third consecutive season, with the previous two wins both by double digits.

“Sometimes you gotta do more” was Fox’s explanation to his players for dressing in a traditional suit and tie, in a season where the NCAA has allowed coaches to wear polo shirts and sweat suits. Fox revealed to his team his choice of wardrobe on Saturday with the background story meant to motivate his group.

Apparently the ploy hit home.

The Bears will reveal their next two games later this week as the season on the fly continues. Fox did say there was an issue with one of their East Coast opponents meaning they may have two new opponents on their East swing in the days before Christmas or just one along with Boston College, which was previously announced.

 

Cal-Washington State canceled before kickoff due to COVID issue

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By Morris Phillips

The Cal Bears were supposed to enjoy an exemplary season on the football field. Instead, their season was wrecked by COVID-19 in a such a devastating manner the conversation has regarding their fate has gone national.

And the likely final chapter to their story? The cancelation of Saturday’s game in Pullman against Washington State just two hours before the kickoff due to a Cal lineman registering a positive test on Saturday morning.

In accordance with Pac-12 contact tracing protocol, the positive test triggered the quarantine of additional players at the same position leaving the Bears below the required six scholarship players at that position. With those additional players quaranteened for two weeks, the Bears are unlikely to be able to field a team next weekend either, likely ending their season.

The Cal administration and Coach Justin Wilcox issued a statement that they would not immediately comment on the situation. What is known, the Bears traveled to Pullman Friday, but never took the field for warm-ups on Saturday and abruptly flew back to the Bay Area during the window in which the game was to be played.

“We’re always going to err on the side of caution as a conference,” WSU athletic director Pat Chun said.

That caution has hatched a bunch of critics of the Pac-12 who have had a string of cancelations combined with a delayed time frame allowing no weekend for makeups. Consequently, the Pac-12 season will end next weekend (with opponents still to be determined) with few of the schools completing as many as seven games the truncated season aimed for.

The Bears are currently 1-3 and can’t finish with at least a .500 record ruling out a bowl game appearance. Their COVID situation could hampet another team’s season-ending weekend as well as the conference has ruled out member teams playing outside competition.

Bears don’t enjoy the view–or focus on the hoop–in falling at Pepperdine, 74-62

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By Morris Phillips

Most Pac-12 coaches play it smart when it comes to Malibu. If they want to celebrate a Southland recruit’s commitment, maybe they’ll make a side trip to Duke’s on the PCH for a frivolous cocktail and a steak–if it’s mid-afternoon and their flight schedule out of LAX isn’t compromised.

Power 5 coaches could care less about sightseeing so that’s it. A trip to Pepperdine to face the Waves in the Firestone Fieldhouse is definitely a Pac-12 no no.

But Mark Fox and his Bears ventured into the tiny gym with the expansive view on Wednesday, becoming the first Pac-12 team to do so since 2012, only the sixth conference team to play there, and the first since current Waves assistant Ken Bone’s Washington State team lost to Pepperdine in overtime.

Current Cal assistant Marty Wilson coached the Waves for six seasons, and only Bone accepted his offer to play. Apparently coaches let their guard down when they know each other.

See where this is going?

The Waves buried 12 3-pointers and led wire-to-wire, beating California 74-62. Kessler Edwards led Pepperdine with 26 points, eight rebounds, and reserves Jan Zidek and Andre Ball both scored in double figures as well.

The Bears got 27 from Matt Bradley and 21 from Grant Anticevich, but missed too many shots and were too careless with the basketball to keep it close. The Bears missed 19 3-point attempts and committed 15 turnovers, extending negative trends that have run through all six of their games to date.

Coming in the Bears ranked 201st in Division I, shooting just 30 percent from distance. Then they missed 19 of 24 attempts against the Waves, falling further down the rankings while calling into question why they even try to further their Steph Curry aspirations.

Pepperdine built a 10-point lead in the first 12 minutes, and extended it to as many as 19 in the second half. Ten of their 12 made threes came before halftime, part of their 51 percent shooting for the game.

With the win, the Waves have their first win against Cal after three losses.

The Bears return home on Sunday to face USF at Haas Pavilion at 12 noon.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal shocks the NCAA world with huge upset over Oregon

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In the first half of the game the Cal Bears receiver Makai Polk (17) gets caught from behind from the Oregon Ducks cornerback Mykael Wright (AP News photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 This had to be the shock of the NCAA on Saturday as Cal (1-3) a team considered a doormat in the Pac 12 a team no one would consider won their first game against the Pac 12’s best the Oregon Ducks (3-2).

#2 Cal head coach Justin Wilcox certainly relied on his defense after getting that lead in the first half and held onto it. They had Ducks quarterback Tyler Shough scrambling throughout the second half and he simply couldn’t convert  as the Bears shut the Ducks out in the second half.

#3 Morris Shough threw for 231 yards and a touchdown in that second half you can bet the Ducks coaching staff were trying to rearrange their playbook but would you say in the loss to the Oregon State Beavers (2-2) that film revealed a lot of holes that Cal could have learned from?

#4 For Cal quarterback Chase Garbers an evening he won’t forget a touchdown for Cal in each of the first three quarters good enough for the 21-17 win and Cal’s first win of the season. Garbers threw for 183 yards and a touchdown. He got touchdown help from running back Bradrick Shaw, receiver Nicco Remigio and Garbers carried one in himself.

#5 Cal now heads to Pullman to face the Washington State Cougars (1-1) for the final game of the regular season. If the Bears who just lost to the Stanford Cardinal (2-2) on Sat Nov 28th in the Big Game by a blocked field goal had won that game no telling what that would have done for their post season chances after a big win like this against Oregon.

#6 Morris the Cal men’s basketball game wasn’t even close on Sunday night at UCLA the Golden Bears were blown out at Pauley Pavilion 76-56. Cal head coach Mark Fox said that the Bruins were ahead every step of the way.

#7 Makale Foreman was one of two players who did not travel to the Southland on Saturday. Foreman and the unnamed player did eventually make to Pauley Pavilion but didn’t make practice on Saturday and the pre-game walk through. How much did that impact the results of their game against the Bruins.

#8 Fox said that the Bruins shot for 70% and the Cal defense wasn’t where they wanted them to be and the offense didn’t play with authority.

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

 

 

UCLA leaves Cal at the side of the road in 76-56 conference win

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By Morris Phillips

This Cal-UCLA pairing isn’t looking much like a rivalry right now.

The Bears looked like they were stuck in Southern California freeway traffic in falling to UCLA 76-56 on Sunday. The loss was Cal’s seventh in a row against the Bruins, and they haven’t won in Pauley Pavilion since 2010–well before one of college basketball’s best known venues underwent a major renovation.

Coach Mark Fox’s club didn’t actually get stuck in traffic. But they did deal with COVID-19 snafus that kept Makale Foreman and a second player in Berkeley on Saturday while the rest of the team traveled to Los Angeles. Those two players joined the team for the game but missed Saturday’s practice and the pre-game walk through. Fox wasn’t succinct, but apparently both players may have been saddled with false positive tests that took 24 hours to correct.

That upheaval along with playing one of the Pac-12’s championship favorites on a date historically early in the schedule left Cal disorganized, especially in the game’s first half.

“We were a step behind every play,” Fox said. “They shot nearly 70% in the first half. You have to give them credit for some for that, but obviously our defense was nowhere near where we wanted to be. Offensively, I didn’t think we played with any authority.”

At one point, the Bruins scored 15 straight to extend their lead to 31-11 with 6:57 remaining. The Bears would trail 40-22 at the half without recording a steal, a blocked shot or an offensive rebound.

“Yeah, we defended without fouling,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “Also they only had three offensive rebounds on 27 misses, so we worked hard on our boxing out. We know they’re a big, strong, physical team. The most irrelevant stat on a statsheet is the halftime score. I laugh when I hear ‘ya, ya, we were winning at half.’ That means you lost if somebody says that. We talk about strategy at halftime. What had hurt us, adjustments, we were well-aware that Mark Fox’s teams are not going to quit.”

The Bears did string together five consecutive possessions with points, getting them to within 66-54 with 4:30 remaining. But UCLA responded, scoring 10 straight to re-establish a 20-point lead.

Foreman led Cal with 14 points. Ryan Betley and Matt Bradley each contributed 12 points.

Both programs have remarkable similarities in the last two seasons, but UCLA and Cal have embarked on dissimilar trajectories. Both Fox and Cronin are veteran coaches in their second seasons at their respective schools, and in both programs, tough times and decisions have already hashed out. But the Bruins have better weathered the storms, starting with their 50-40 victory over Cal in January that sparked a 10-3 finish to last season that vaulted the Bruins to the top of the Pac-12 standings.

The Bruins have the better recruits but things didn’t gel until Cronin repeatedly demanded a defensive approach and got his team to buy in.

And the Bears? For Fox and his crew, their have been breakthroughs–seven conference wins last season and a Pac-12 tournament upset of Stanford–but the losses have been glaring, including Sunday’s.

Ironically, both teams returned eight rotation players from January’s game into Sunday. The Bruins have a clear, defensive identity augmented by offensive standouts Tyger Campbell (11 points, 12 assists on Sunday) and NBA prospect Chris Smith (21 points, two steals), a long armed shooter and defender who has grown at both ends of the floor.

Of Cal’s eight returners, none seems poised for stardom, including Bradley, who watched the final minutes from the bench as Cal briefly rallied. More specifically, none of the eight has added a secondary skill that will help Fox fill in the gaps. The Bears absence of an offensive facilitator and a secondary scorer needs to be addressed. Which players can answer the call?

The Bears continue their Los Angeles swing at Pepperdine on Wednesday. The Waves took the Bruins to three overtimes last week in San Diego before falling 107-98.