Tag: Charlie Moore

Cal stays hot by taking advantage of suspension-hampered Colorado

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–As half of the final, televised sporting event leading up to the Super Bowl, the Cal Bears drew high ratings with skillful shot making, and dominant play early.

Then with viewers tuning out upon seeing the lopsided, halftime score, the Bears pulled ’em back in by allowing Colorado to make a game of it late.  That part was probably more Nielsen ratings-oriented than coach Cuonzo Martin would have preferred.

“Once (Colorado) settled in, they did something we didn’t want them to do, which was go with the smaller lineup,” Martin said after Cal’s 77-66 win.  “I felt like they would always have an advantage unless we played the zone, especially with George King at the four. If they went small, we had to put one of our bigs on the bench, which isn’t necessarily a strength for us. But when we went to the zone, it worked out for us.”

With freshman Charlie Moore enjoying his best half of basketball since his breakout against UC Irvine in November, the Bears surged on Sunday, hitting nine three-pointers to forge a huge lead. Moore contributed 5 of 7 shooting from three, and the Bears grabbed their biggest lead of the afternoon, 39-16 with 3:28 remaining.

But that deficit served as a wake-up call for the Buffs, who scored 20 of the next 24 points spanning halftime to make a game of it, then getting as close as 62-57 with 3:19 left.  Colorado came in riding a three-game win streak after losing its first seven Pac-12 contests, only to find out prior to the game that head coach Tad Boyle had suspended frontcourt tandem Xavier Johnson an Wesley Gordon for some poor, undisclosed decisions following their win over Stanford on Thursday.

“Two really good kids made a bad decision,” Boyle said without disclosing the specific transgression.  “We’re in the education business. These are lessons that go beyond basketball.”

So while Martin feared King and a smaller Buffs lineup, without Gordon and Johnson, King found himself matched with 6’11” Ivan Rabb, an assignment so consuming it left King with little energy on offense.  Also, Cal’s zone proved effective early, causing seven of the Buffs’ nine turnovers in the first 17 minutes alone.

King finished with just seven points, and guard Dominique Collier five as Colorado failed to cover offensively for their two missing starters despite forging a huge comeback.

“We made shots to get ourselves back into it, but at certain times we had some really good looks that didn’t go in, and to come back from where we were, you really have to play a flawless second half.”

While Cal allowed Colorado’s comeback, they showed growth offensively by sharing the ball with each other, especially early.  The Bears took a page out of the Warriors’ playbook with 11 assists on their first 12 made baskets. When it was over, six Bears scored at least 9 points, and none more than 17, perhaps their most, balanced effort all season.

“We expect all of our guys to play and be very effective,  but it definitely helps us when everyone is able to score with the way teams defend Ivan,” Martin said. “The way teams defend against Ivan, really corralling around him, you have to be ready to step up and make a shot.”

The Bears (17-6, 8-3) remained tied with UCLA for third place in the Pac-12 with the win, their fourth straight. If their NCAA tournament strategy is to win the ones their supposed to, they did that this weekend at home against Utah and Colorado.  If their more sound strategy is to pull a noteable upset, then that opportunity comes next in Tucson on Saturday against first-place Arizona.

Either way the Bears are in the tourney mix, precariously one bad loss from being left out, or one big win from being invited.

Next up, the Bears attempt a season sweep of Arizona State on Thursday evening in Tempe.

Bears stay “locked in,” grab critical win over Utah in double OT 77-75

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–After seeing the score tied at 55 after regulation, and 75 in the final moments of double overtime–and ten other times on Thursday–the Cal Bears no doubt understood how evenly matched they were with their opponent, Utah in their 77-75 win.

But instead of getting caught up in how tense and tight the ballgame was, or fretting over a 14-point, first half lead that evaporated, or how big of a swing regarding their postseason hopes the outcome would hold, the Bears managed to focus in the game’s final possession, the one in which freshman Charlie Moore found senior Jabari Bird breaking backdoor for the game-winning slam dunk.

Ah, the beauty of familiarity–through countless repetitions and practices–on display in a game’s critical, final moments.  Call the convergence a coach’s dream, something coach Cuonzo Martin no doubt will refer to in the season’s final weeks.

“I think our guys stayed locked in, finished the game,” Martin said when asked if his team reacted better against Utah, then they did in narrow losses to Virginia and Arizona earlier in the season. “They know how to get stops when it’s time to get stops.  They know how to buckle down and do what they need to do to get stops, and make plays.”

If nothing else, Moore and Bird’s connection provided a fairly straightforward conclusion to what evolved into a complicated game of closely-matched opponents. At least in the eyes of Utah coach Larry Krystowiak it  did.

“It was all penetration,” Krystowiak said. “There was two seconds to go.  It was important that we stop the ball.  (Moore) made a great play. Yeah, we lost him on that play.”

“Once I saw the lane open up, and guys commit to (Moore), I just cut back door and he made a great play and found me,” Bird said of the play that left just two seconds on the clock.

Ironically, it was Moore and Bird who combined for the game’s winning basket.  The freshman struggled with his shooting throughout Pac-12 play while learning how to combat bigger defenders, all keyed up to stop him after word of Moore’s 38-point game against Cal Irvine became widespread knowledge.  The 5’11 guard went on to lead Cal in scoring in four, subsequent non-conference games, but he hasn’t done it since over the first ten Pac-12 contests.

Meanwhile, Bird has been unstoppable, a guy who opened the season unable to play due to injury, and now has regained all of his capabilities. The 6’6″ senior has scored in double figures in ten of the previous 12 games culminating with his career-best 26 on Thursday.

If anything specific could keep this Cal Bears’ team from the NCAA tournament it would be lack of offense, and that seems less likely with Bird and Moore simultaneously operating at a high level.  Moore contributed 17 points, seven assists against the Utes, and drew high praise from Martin for his patience, and trusting his playmaking on the game’s final play.  While Moore has scored in double figures in four of the five, most recent games, it’s the emergence of his overall game that’s drawn notice.

With eight regular season games remaining, the Bears (16-6, 7-3) are tied for third with UCLA, behind conference leaders Oregon and Arizona who meet this weekend in Eugene.  Staying in the top four is paramount not only for favorable seeding in the conference tournament in Las Vegas, but also for the likelihood the NCAA committee would invite at least four Pac-12 teams to March Madness.

Cal has the jump on USC and Utah in that regard with wins over both, if not a win over any of the conference leaders, which would be the greater deal changer.   Winning the games they’re supposed to win also has a great cache, and that process continues Sunday afternoon when Cal and Colorado draw the assignment as the televised lead-in to the Super Bowl.

On Thursday,  the Buffs outlasted Stanford, 81-74 at Maples Pavilion,  just their third Pac-12 victory thus far.

 

 

Bears tie school-record win streak at home with wire-to-wire win over UC Davis

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–For a team that led by 21 points at halftime, and won by 25—for a record-tying 26th consecutive time at home—the Cal Bears had issues on Saturday night.  Not big issues, but issues for a young team that has challenges looming and needs to improve to meet them.

Even mercurial, freshman guard Charlie Moore had problems holding on to the ball.  Moore committed five turnovers in Cal’s 86-61 win over UC Davis, although that was about the extent of his struggles.  Moore again led Cal, playing a team-high 33 minutes, scoring 22 points with four assists and four steals.  And with the pressure of the halftime buzzer present, Moore went spectacular, rivaling anything crosstown star Steph Curry has pulled off in recent times.

Off an undervalued pass from Sam Singer that evaded an Aggie defender, Moore—seemingly in one motion—caught Singers’ pass and turned and fired a 50-foot banker that not only looked good, but was good.  Moore then finished it off with a little showmanship, even starting his celebration a split second early ala Curry.

“It felt good when I released it,” Moore said. “That’s why I followed through and ran down the court with it.”

Moore’s banker was the crescendo to Cal’s hot night of shooting in which they shot 69 percent from the field after halftime, and 56 percent for the game.  While UC Davis’ defense wasn’t confounding, their offensive game was—especially early in the second half when they briefly trimmed Cal’s lead to 14.  That stretch claimed Cal star Ivan Rabb, who picked up his fourth foul.  Then a few minutes later, Jabari Bird left the game, appearing to favor his back, which cost him six consecutive games recently.

“I thought UC Davis in the second half really started imposing their will and driving the ball, playing hard and making plays at the rim, showing off what they really do well,” Coach Cuonzo Martin said. “I thought in the first half we did a great job at taking away those passing lanes and not giving a lot of options for their perimeter guys to make those plays, and in the second half we gave up a little bit.”

The Bears played their fourth game in seven days on Saturday night–including their trip to Hawaii, where they beat Princeton, and narrowly lost to Seton Hall—and maybe the accompanying fatigue contributed to their uneven effort.  Along with the team’s hot shooting, they committed 17 turnovers and allowed UC Davis to shoot 51 percent in the second half.  But you can only nitpick so much with a team that’s won eight of its 10 games despite a slew of injuries and the resulting issues with continuity.

While Rabb fouled out, and Bird didn’t play well (1 0f 6 shooting) before he departed gingerly, lesser known Bears picked up the slack.  Grant Mullins—always in attack mode—shot 6 for 7 and scored 17 points in 22 minutes off the bench.  Cole Welle, in his most significant action as a collegian, contributed 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting.  And Roger Moute A Bidias–the Bear most affected by whether Bird is available or not—started and contributed nine points and two rebounds in just 14 minutes.

“I think it’s huge,” Mullins said of how he and others stepped up in support of Cal’s stars. “Obviously, those guys (Ivan and Jabari) are so talented that when they’re off a little bit or they’re being doubled, other guys can step up, that’s huge for us going forward.”

In the coming weeks, the Bears will face ACC contender Virginia and ranked Pac-12 power Arizona at home, both sure to challenge Cal’s home dominance.  Also, the first conference road trip of the new year brings the Bears to Los Angeles, where they’ll face suddenly red-hot UCLA, undefeated and ranked No. 2 nationally this week behind uber talented guard Lonzo Ball.

But for now, the Bears can bask in the accomplishment of extending their home streak to 26, equaling the school-record established by the ’59-’60 National Championship team.  While the opponents during their streak haven’t always been top notch, the Bears have performed, and the streak includes them running the table at home in conference play last season.  For that, Martin, said they should be proud.

“It’s been since 1960,” Martin said. “That’s a long time ago, and to be a part of that is incredible. We still want to win home games, protect our court and there’s still work to be done, but in most cases with players, these streaks and such don’t set in until the players leave the school, years later, because right now you’re still competing and trying to win games.”

The Bears have a week off to finish the semester and take final exams, then they return to Haas Pavilion next Saturday with a chance to establish a new school-record streak when they face Cal Poly at 5pm.

 

Cal responds to challenge of playing at Pearl Harbor with a big second half against Princeton

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By Morris Phillips

The environment at Bloch Arena on Tuesday afternoon may have been more challenging than the Princeton Tigers ultimately.

The Cal Bears looked wide-eyed in the first half, then seemed more focused in a dominating second half that allowed them to pull away from Princeton in a 62-51 win.  Charlie Moore scored 10 of Cal’s 44 points in a hot-shooting, second half after the Bears shot just 25 percent from the field before halftime.  The 44 points was a high for Cal in a half through eight games.

“Charlie stepped up,” coach Cuonzo Martin said.  “He made plays.  He made shots.  He got to the rim.”

“Coach told me to assert myself a little bit more on the offensive end in the second half and make sure we execute the offense,” Moore said after scoring 15 points for the game, one of four Bears to score in double figures.

With service men and women lining the court, and comprising the vast majority of the 2,500 in attendance at the arena with open air vistas at its top, Bloch Arena made for as unique an environment to ever to host a California basketball game.  The smallish venue at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham is hosting holiday, college basketball for the second consecutive year.  The event this year marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, an attack that Bloch Arena miraculously survived.

Instead of the Oklahoma-Villanova Final Four preview that highlighted last year’s event, this one started with the Bears and the Tigers attempting to overcome awful shooting from the game’s outset.  At one point, during the first half, Princeton missed 14 consecutive shots.  But the Bears fell cold at the half’s conclusion, and the Tigers led 20-18 at the break.

In the second half, Cal surged behind Jabari Bird, playing for the first time in six games after his bout with back spasms.  Bird scored 11 of his 13 after halftime, and the Bears made their final 16 of 24 shots from the field to turn the tide.

Meanwhile the Tigers went cold after taking their final lead, 46-44, with 7:45 remaining on Henry Caruso’s three.  At that point, Cal responded with an 11-1 run to put the game away.

“They made some really big plays down the stretch,” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said.  “About three or four big plays and we really struggled in that little window there and that was the difference in the game.”

Sam Singer and Grant Mullins, who missed the previous game against Alcorn State due to a death in his family, scored 11 points each.  Devin Cannady led Princeton with 16 points, but missed 11 of his 15 shots from the field.  Spencer Weisz added 10 for the Tigers.

Ivan Rabb had a quiet game offensively.  The 6’10” forward missed his first five shots, and finished with a season-low six points.  But Rabb had 10 rebounds, and contributed to the Bears huge disparity on the glass (49-33) and points in the paint (34-12).

The Bears return to Bloch Arena Wednesday afternoon to face Big East opponent, Seton Hall.  The Pirates got past Hawaii in Tuesday’s nightcap, 68-57, as Angel Delado scored 16 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More buckets, more polish: Cal’s Moore leads the way again in win over Southeastern Louisiana

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–In Berkeley these days, Moore means more.  More buckets, more assists and steals.  So much more, Bears’ fans collectively must be wondering, how much more they can expect from Charlie Moore, the 5’11” guard from Chicago burning up the stat sheet in his first taste of college basketball.

Moore was at again Sunday at Haas Pavilion, scoring 22 points in Cal’s 67-55 win over Southeastern Lousiana.  But the cerebral freshman didn’t just score, he buried it from deep (four made threes), came up with a crafty steal for a breakaway layup, and took control of the game early when it was still up for grabs.

“Gosh, he’s got such a great future in front of him,” SE Louisiana coach Jay Ladner gushed. “He’s an outstanding player and he was really the difference in the game, in fact the three he hit late, when we cut it to nine was a huge play so give him credit.”

Pac-12 network color commentator Steve Lavin talked about the polish in Moore’s game during the telecast, and spoke to the freshman about his ability to improvise one trip, then work within an offensive set the next trip.  Moore doesn’t have to do much explaining, prep observers have already spoken extensively about the guard’s exploits on the AAU circuit after his junior year of high school in which he outplayed more heralded prep stars, then followed that by averaging 28 points per game in his senior season for Morgan Park H.S.

Moore originally passed on California and VCU to sign with Memphis and Coach Josh Pastner.  But when Pastner left Memphis for Georgia Tech, Moore had already negotiated his out in the event of a coaching change.  With his recruitment reopened, Moore chose Cal.

 

Cal bounces back: MWC opponent Wyoming becomes the Bears’ 22nd consecutive victim at Haas Pavilion

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Wyoming forward Hayden Dalton (20) dives to save a out of bounds ball in front of California guard Don Coleman (14) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–The laundry list of things to fix for the Cal Bears was lengthy and varied Friday night, and it didn’t change if the Bears were up 22, or clinging to the lead in the final seconds.

Transition defense, entry pass angles, switching on screens to get to shooters and ball movement were highlights, but the list didn’t end there.  And the process didn’t begin or end with Cal’s 71-61 victory over Wyoming.  Despite his team leading their Mountain West opponent by double digits for more than half the game, Coach Cuonzo Martin made it clear he’s looking for improvement.

“You have to execute down the stretch, I think we got excited (because) we got a big lead” Martin said.  “We didn’t defend at the level we needed to, we didn’t maintain the level we needed to.”

When the baskets disappeared—the Bears went from 7:15 to 42 seconds remaining in the game scoring just two points—the game grew tight, and that too was an issue for a young club needing to mature.  In the final stretch, the Bears got offensive foul calls, botched an entry pass, got stripped in the post and set some sloppy screens, things that were issues in Sacramento on Monday in their loss to San Diego State.

But this time, Cal was in the win column thanks to a really good defensive stretch at the game’s beginning, and some pleasant offensive efforts from Grant Mullins and Roger Moute A Bidias.  Just seven minutes in, the Bears led 11-1, Mullins and Moute A Bidias combined for 26 points, a nice compliment to scoring leaders Ivan Rabb and freshman Charlie Moore.

Moore figured to be Cal’s top newcomer after a highly decorated high school career in Illinois, and it may be a far more consistent deal than anyone could have expected.  In his last three games, Moore has scored 73 points, attempted 28 free throws and been named Pac-12 Player of the Week.  Against Wyoming, Moore added a career-best six assists and three steals.

“He makes plays. He makes good decisions,” Martin said of Moore.  “He’s one of the better guys I’ve seen as far as attacking ball screens, reading ball screens, and he’s so shifty that it’s really hard to trap him and he has a variety of moves in and around the rim with his floaters, pull-ups, step-backs.  He’s just a tough guy to defend.”

Moore’s a company guy too.  When Moore and senior Moute A Bidias were asked what’s the magic to Cal’s 22-game home winning streak—currently the nation’s seventh longest—Moore weighed in first saying it’s “definitely just the crowd.  Familiar faces and familiar surroundings.  We get shots up in her all the time so in Haas just playing a game, it comes easy to us.”

Rabb looked rusty in just his second game of the season.  Moore and Rabb hooked up on a nice interior alley oop that needed the long arm of the 6’10 sophomore to impact the difficulty meter, and when Wyoming got within 10 points with nine minutes remaining, Rabb responded with a pump fake and a bank shot that dropped and drew a foul on the Cowboys’ Alan Herndon.

Jabari Bird, the likely third wheel to a Rabb-Moore led Cal offense missed his third straight game with back spasms.  Martin said he could be out two more weeks, but maintained he wasn’t sure as his medical doctor days, like many of us, are confined to a Holiday Inn Express.

The Bears led by 12 at the half, and 22 with 12 minutes remaining.  But Wyoming chipped away—reserve Justin James came up with 17 of his game-best 28 points after halftime—and the Bears had to protect a 65-60 lead in the game’s final minute.

“We played on our heels in the first half, and you can’t do that against a tough and gritty team like Cal,” first-year Wyoming coach Allen Edwards, the successor to veteran coach Larry Shyatt, said.  “We were more assertive and played better in transition in the second half.”

If nothing else, the Bears have a measure of the Mountain West having struggled at a neutral site against MWC pre-season favorite San Diego State, then cruised—initially—at home against Wyoming, picked to finish ahead of only San Jose State in the 11-team league.  The Bears are 19-2 at home under Martin against non-conference opponents.

The Bears face Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday at 5pm at Haas Pavilion.  The Lions of the Southland Conference most recently won at UTEP by 17 points, and lost by eight at Colorado State.