Tag: Ivan Rabb

All swagged out–for a half: No. 4 UCLA runs past Cal at Pauley Pavilion

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California forward Don Coleman (14) goes to the basket against UCLA forward T.J. Leaf (22) UCLA guard Aaron Holiday (3) during an NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017. UCLA beat California 81-71. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)

By Morris Phillips

At the end of a mighty impressive half of basketball, UCLA’s Lonzo Ball turned toward the tunnel, pulled out his jersey, and casually ran ahead of his teammates, only looking up to reach a few, congratulory hands.

That Ball did this immediately after an unique, behind-the-back dribble into a cold-blooded, pull-up three from 26 feet at the buzzer to extend the Bruins’ lead to 20 said it all.

Yet, Ball said very little.

How could this freshman phenom–likely the most talented recruit to sign with the iconic program in the past decade–eschew a quick celebration with his teammates, or bother with a self-affirming yell after such a feat?

Well, welcome to the world of Lonzo Ball and the return to prominence of UCLA basketball.

Credit to Cal for not allowing the Hollywood stuff extend past halftime-the Bears methodically chipped away at UCLA’s lead, getting within five points with 46 seconds remaining–before succumbing 81-71 at Pauley Pavilion.

“We got careless offensively, the ball stopped moving, we got stagnant, and then we didn’t defend,” UCLA coach Steve Alford admitted. “In the first half, I thought that was as good of defense we have had any 20 minutes all year long, and then again we thought it was going to be easy and we shut it down in the second half.”

“Those are valuable lessons to learn. You can’t do that in this league.”

Cal’s lessons to learn list was slightly lengthier than UCLA’s, starting with the double teams thrown at post presence Ivan Rabb again were effective in slowing down the Bears offensively.  The Bears shot just 39 percent for the game, and managed only seven assists on 27 made baskets.

“They really guarded Ivan in the post, and they were really good at switching, which took away the pick and roll,” guard Grant Mullins said. “From that, it just made us rely more on defense.”

“We were really stagnant, and we took a lot of bad shots,” Rabb said.  “I just didn’t have what it took in the first half. I just had to remind myself to keep pushing; I should have really done that at the beginning of the game.”

UCLA (15-1, 2-1) took control early, scoring on seven, consecutive possessions at one point to establish a double-digit lead.  A good chunk of Bryce Alford’s game-best 24 points came during this run as the Bruins proved unselfish offensively as advertised.

Alford had plenty of help, starting with freshman T.J. Leaf’s 17 points, 11 rebounds and Ball’s 14 points, seven assists.  Ball wasn’t perfect; he missed six shots from distance, only hitting his halftime buzzer beater from three. And he wasn’t completely quiet either, barking at his teammates when the score grew tight in the second half.

“Lonzo came in as a quiet guy on the court but loud in the locker room and off the court,” Bryce Alford said.  “On the court he just takes care of business. His development on talking more on the court is not something we need from him all the time. But when he does talk he does a great job with it.”

“They really came back with a couple minutes left and we just didn’t guard,” Ball said. “That’s the one thing we have to keep working on. We know our offense is going to be there and it did again tonight. It’s the defense they we need to keep working on.”

Cal (10-5, 1-2) allowed as many as 44 points in a first half for the first time this season. The Bears have dropped three of four games in a five-game stretch featuring four ranked opponents with No. 25 USC up on Sunday.

Mullins led Cal with 19 points, Rabb added 17 points and a career-best 20 rebounds.  Don Coleman had his best outing of his career to date with 15 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Cal’s edge on the glass was mitigated by 13 turnovers, and UCLA’s six, blocked shots.

NOTES: The Bruins have won two straight after dropping their only game of the season–at the buzzer at pre-season, conference favorite Oregon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amidst the most difficult stretch of their season, the Cal Bears come up with a critical win over ASU

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–Grant Mullins hadn’t been himself. The Ivy League graduate transfer gifted just one season in the Cal basketball program, left briefly to be with his family following the death of his grandmother in late November.  Upon his return, according to coach Cuonzo Martin, the aggressive, offensive dynamo was off his game.

That’s when the observant coach decided to take Mullins’ foot off the gas. Mullins was removed from the starting lineup for a few games, only to return to starting on Sunday night against Arizona State.

“I felt like it was the right thing to do to put him back in the lineup, because he didn’t lose his spot-he went home to be with his family. I didn’t think he was playing at the level and didn’t have his legs on him until now,” Martin said.

Martin’s hunch regarding Mullins proved spot on when Cal’s 21-4 run to end the ballgame broke open a close game in the Bears’ 81-65 win.

The win broke a two-game losing streak for Cal, in the midst of a daunting stretch of four Top 25-opponents in five games that concludes this weekend in Los Angeles.

Mullins and Ivan Rabb led Cal with 20 points each.  In a game where nearly 40 percent of the 117 combined shot attempts for both teams were from three-point range, the advantage would have appeared to go to the guard heavy, perimeter-oriented Sun Devils.

But instead, the nod went to Cal with Rabb and Mullins the biggest beneficiaries.  Mullins hit a season-best five threes on eight attempts, and Rabb, Cal’s accomplished post man, stepped away and buried both of his attempts from distance.

“It’s a big part of my game now,” Rabb said.  “It makes them guard me on the outside–especially when we go small–it really opens the floor.  When I’m able to make that shot, it means we have five shooters on the court.”

With the game on the line and six minutes remaining, Cal trailed by one point as Rabb sat after picking up his fourth foul.  Nervous time no doubt for the Bears, but dunks by Kingsley Okoroh and Jabari Bird sparked Cal’s closing run in which they hit their final eight shot attempts.

“When Rabb went out with his fourth, I don’t think we capitalized on that the way we needed to with him not on the floor,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “Couldn’t get a lead and then he came back in. They had a few plays that stood out.  I thought that Bird’s back cut and dunk, and Okoroh’s put up and dunk were momentum-shifting plays.  So we just didn’t handle the last several minutes the way you’d hope.”

Arizona State (8-7, 1-1) was limited to one made field goal over the game’s final 9:44, and they missed 17 of their 24 attempts from distance.  ASU leading scorer Tra Holder had 14 points, while Obinna Oleka led the Sun Devils with 18 and five rebounds.

For Cal (10-4, 1-1), Bird had 16, and Sam Singer 10 off the bench.  The Bears’ 11 made threes was one off their season high.

The Bears visit Pauley Pavilion Thursday for a date with one-loss UCLA, followed by a date with No. 25 USC.  Both the Bruins and Trojans are 14-1 with both losses coming this last weekend at Oregon.

HURLEY’S BIG COLLEGIATE FINALE TRUMPED BY CAL AND KIDD: Arizona State coach Hurley probably had enough of Cal even before Sunday’s loss as he saw his college career at Duke end at the hands of Todd Bozeman’s Bears in March 1993 in a second round NCAA tournament game in Rosemont, IL.

Hurley was spectacular that night finishing with 32 points, nine assists and one turnover as he tried to rally his Blue Devils from a big, early deficit.

But Cal prevailed behind 28 points from Lamond Murray.  Current NBA Bucks’ coach Jason Kidd, just a freshman matched against the two-time NCAA champion Hurley, had 11 points and 14 assists.  And current Stanford coach Jerod Haase contributed 13 points on three made threes for Cal.

The Bears would see their NCAA run end in a Sweet 16 loss to Kansas and former USF coach Rex Walters.

Offense evaporates after halftime, Cal loses at home to No. 18 Arizona

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Arizona’s Rawle Alkins, left, shoots as California’s Ivan Rabb defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

By Morris Phillips

Ideally, opponents visiting Haas Pavilion that get kicked to the floor upon arrival shouldn’t then be offered a hand up.

But that’s exactly what coach Cuonzo Martin felt transpired as his Bears squandered an early 13-point lead in a 67-62 loss to No. 18 Arizona.

After baffling the Wildcats (12-2, 1-0) with an active defense in the opening 20 minutes, the Bears allowed a big Arizona run to open the second half, then couldn’t keep up offensively in their second, consecutive loss at home following a school-record, 27-game home win streak.

“I just think that, simply, guys that were defending the ball didn’t take pride in defending.  That’s what happened in the second half.  It’s that simple,” Martin said.

After holding Arizona to 26 points in the first half, the Bears allowed 41 in the second, as Cal’s own missed shots may have contributed to the turnaround as much as the defensive indifference that bothered Martin.  The Bears made just nine baskets after halftime, the majority of those in two runs that got Cal close, but not even.

Cal wiped out Arizona’s 41-36 lead with a run led by Ivan Rabb, who finished with team-best 16 points and 16 rebounds. But Arizona’s Chase Comanche answered back with a three-point play to give Arizona the lead for good with 10:33 remaining.

In the game’s final minutes, Jabari Bird’s 3-point basket got Cal within 66-62, but after Bird’s 3-point miss on the ensuing possession, Cal would get no closer.

Cal missed 24 of their 33 shot attempts in the second half as Arizona rallied. Outside of Rabb and Bird, the other seven Bears to see action also missed 24 of 33 shot attempts.

7’0″ center Dusan Ristic led Arizona with 16 points on 8 of 10 shooting. Rangy freshman guard Kobi Simmons keyed the Wildcats’ second half rally and finished with 14 points, three assists. All but five of Arizona’s 67 points came from their starters.

Charlie Moore’s struggles to find consistentcy as a freshman with fewer than 15 collegiate games under his belt continued against Arizona.  The lead guard scored 12 points, but missed nine of his 12 shot attempts. Moore finished with four assists, but four of Cal’s 10 turnovers as well.

The Bears (9-4, 0-1) turn their attention to Arizona State, Sunday evening’s opponent who lost at Stanford on Friday.  The Sun Devils are the only unranked opponent for Cal during this challenging, five-game stretch bridging non-conference and conference play.

 

 

 

 

Perrantes, Guy lead No. 12 Virginia past upset-minded Cal snapping school-record, home winning streak

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–In a game this close, this low-scoring, experience and shot making often spell the difference.  Those two factors weighed heavily for No. 12 Virginia on Wednesday at Haas Pavilion as they squeezed past upset-minded Cal, 56-52.

Senior London Perrantes provided the experience for the Cavaliers with his smart decisions with the ball and 14 points, three assists. Freshman Kyle Guy contributed the shot making with nine of his game-high 17 points in the game’s final 6:12, not including the critical assist to teammate Isaiah Wilkins, whose layup with 1:02 remaining gave Virginia the lead for good.

California coach Cuonzo Martin said of Guy, “we knew coming in that he was a talented player that makes tough shots down the stretch.  I thought we played good defense, but he just made better shots.”

With the loss, Cal’s school-record, home winning streak came to an end at 27.  The Bears lost for only the third time in 27 non-conference, home games under Martin.  In a game of runs and surges, the Bears didn’t have an answer to Virginia’s final push.

“It went down to the wire,” Martin said.  “We had some costly turnovers and lost some momentum.”

“You knew it was going to be physical, I told our guys this was going to be a good, old-fashioned knuckle-buster,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.  “That’s what we called it, and that’s really what it was.”

For Cal, their fortunes fell squarely on their three most prominent players, starting with pre-season All-American Ivan Rabb.  The 6’10” forward stayed out of foul trouble, playing a season-best 38 minutes while grabbing a game-best 12 rebounds.  But while facing persistent double teams in the post, and manning a smaller lineup minus 7’0″ center Kingsley Okoroh down the stretch, Rabb fought all the physical battles while attempting just four shots and finishing with nine points.

Jabari Bird, in just his fifth game since returning from injury, led Cal with 15 points, but he needed 15 shots to get there. Overall, the Bears struggled from distance, missing seven of their first eight 3-point attempts, and 18 of 23 for the game.  With Virginia’s physical defenders pushing the Cal offense further out on the floor, the missed shots from distance came back to haunt the Bears.

And while Virginia’s freshman guard, Guy, excelled, Cal’s Charlie Moore did not, missing 11 of his 14 shots with four turnovers.  Martin described Moore’s night as a learning experience for the freshman who projects as one the team’s most prominent players going forward.

“Charlie, as talented as he is, was going against a senior, and all you can do is learn by playing against better players,” Martin said. ” He’ll begin to understand what it takes and how to take care of the ball, attack the ball screens, push through the game.”

Turnovers keyed Virginia’s 12-2 run early in the second half that put them up 40-31 with 12:31 remaining.  But Cal answered right back with a 9-0 run to tie it, setting up the close, tense final minutes.

There were 11 ties and eight lead changes in the ballgame.

Perrantes, the former Los Angeles prep star, and the only California-reared player on the Cavaliers’ roster, played in front of 30 friends and family in the stands.  The senior was a familiar face to Cal players and coaches, his 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds of overtime last year at Charlottesville stood as the decider in that game.

GAME NOTES: Leon Powe, Richard Midgely and Omar Wilkes were among the Cal basketball alumni in attendance.

The Bears open conference play a week from Friday at home against Pac-12 contender No. 18 Arizona.  Virginia opens ACC play on December 28 at No. 11 Louisville.

 

Cal shoots poorly and falls short to Seton Hall on the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor

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By Morris Phillips

Ivan Rabb was off his game, Jabari Bird needed help, and the Bears came up just short at Pearl Harbor on Wednesday.

Bird’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer would have tied it, but Seton Hall survived 60-57 after they broke open a close game with 12 minutes remaining.

The loss dropped Cal to 7-2 on the season as they split a pair of games at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena.  On Wednesday, on the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the Bears and Pirates played before more than 2,000 service men and women.

Seton Hall improved to 7-2 on the season, and captured an important, resume building win.  The Pirates were led by Angel Delgado with 16 points and 12 rebounds.  Desi Rodriguez added 15, and Khadeen Carrington 14 for Seton Hall, the Big East entrant that also was a NCAA tournament qualifier along with Cal in 2015.

The Bears shot 43 percent from the field for the game, but more pointedly, they missed too many threes and squandered too many opportunities at the free throw line.  Along with Bird’s miss at the buzzer, Cal missed 13 of 16 three-point attempts.  They also missed 10 of 18 free throw attempts, and failed to take advantage of Seton Hall’s similar struggles at the stripe (9 of 20).

Bird led the Bears with a game-best 22 points, and freshman Charlie Moore added 12, but no other Bears scored in double figures.  Rabb played 30 minutes, but seemed to struggle with a wrist injury, finishing with 8 points and 8 rebounds.

The Bears led by three at the half, and were even with the Pirates with 12 minutes to go after Carrington’s three tied it.  But Seton Hall scored the next seven points of the game, and never trailed again.

The Bears return to the mainland and Haas Pavilion on Saturday for a matchup with Big West opponent UC Davis.

Rabb in foul trouble, no Bird–no problem: Cal gets past La Tech in overtime, 68-59

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calbears.com photo: The Cal Bears Ivan Rabb throws down against Louisiana Tech’s defense at Haas Pavilion at UC Berkeley

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–On Wednesday, with Ivan Rabb on the bench in foul trouble, Jabari Bird and Kameron Rooks in street clothes, and Louisiana Tech breathing down their collective necks in a close ballgame late, the Cal Bears passed with flying colors.

You don’t survive this kind of adversity without a bunch of characters, and Cal had them, from Kingsley Okoroh, in his lengthiest and best turn as a collegian, to steady Sam Singer, aggressive Grant Mullins and unshakeable Charlie Moore.  In those final seven minutes of regulation—without Rabb after he picked up his fourth foul until he returned for the final 2:36–the Bears would go from up five to down one twice, then tied again with 1:07 remaining.  But those four, unsung Bears and a couple of others, kept Cal afloat, taking all the shots even after Rabb returned for the final minutes and all of overtime.

Yes, Rabb was the leading scorer with a career-best 25 points, but his offensive contribution in the final 12 plus minutes of Cal’s 68-59 overtime victory was five makes out of six from the free throw line.  The pre-season All-American’s teammates did the rest.

“I told our guys I think this game made us a better team,” coach Cuonzo Martin said.  “Often times, you don’t see that level of athleticism, length and physicality on the floor–with speed.  Especially in the last maybe four minutes of the first half in transition they really got the best of us.  Our transition defense, we didn’t do a great job.”

Louisiana Tech was a handful in all aspects with one exception: they didn’t shoot well at all (27 percent), and went the final 4:18 of overtime without scoring.  Other than that, the Bulldogs competed, scratching their way back into the ballgame before halftime (as Martin described) and staying in it until overtime.  Tech had success defending the mercurial freshman, Moore and their 1-3-1 zone look utilized in the second half was effective.  And the Techsters didn’t budge with Rabb, taking the ball right at him, which eventually landed the 6’10” sophomore in foul trouble.

“They didn’t stop,” Rabb said.  “They didn’t let up at all and they continued to push us and we responded.  As long as we continue to respond when that pressure hits, that’s all that matters.”

The Bears won for the 24th consecutive time at home, a streak that’s currently the sixth best nationally, and a sure sign that this club has made itself comfortable at Haas Pavilion.  But good fortune has its place in the streak, and it cropped up Wednesday when Qiydar Davis left early for Louisiana Tech with what is being called a serious knee injury, and Jacobi Boykins and DaQuan Bracey nearly joined Davis on the bench when they had physical issues as well.

But Cal soldiered on as well, finding out that Rooks will miss more than a month after knee surgery, and Bird remains out indefinitely with his back spasms.  Bird would have been much needed against Tech with his length and shooting ability, but one after another, this group of Bears keep things together.

Okoroh was the biggest surprise, playing 40 minutes and fighting fatigue while coming up with nine points, 12 rebounds, five blocks and four assists.  The excitable Okoroh couldn’t stop talking afterwards, but his play talked plenty during the game, catching Martin’s attention.

“That’s 40 minutes and he didn’t foul out,” Martin said of Okoroh.  “And he does a great job keeping his hands high.  (In the off-season) he spent a lot of time playing defense without fouling, keeping his hands high, moving his feet and he does a great job.  And you don’t realize how big and physical he is until you’re up against him the whole night.”

 

 

Rabb’s season debut uneven in Cal’s 77-65 loss to San Diego State in Sacramento

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By Morris Phillips

calbears.com photo: Cal Bears Ivan Rabb looking to dish a pass against the San Diego State Aztecs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Monday night

SACRAMENTO–For those wondering how homegrown Cal star Ivan Rabb goes from 12.5 points, 8.6 rebounds a game as a freshman to living up to the belief that he could be a first-team All-American in his sophomore year, well, that process began Monday in Sacramento.

The results were mixed.

Rabb–the Bears’ unquestioned centerpiece and the first Cal player since Jason Kidd to be honored as such by the Associated Press before a season–missed the team’s first two games while dealing with a sprained toe, pushing back his debut to Monday against San Diego State.  But Rabb and the Bears looked disjointed in a 77-65 loss to the Aztecs.

“Obviously, I was a little rusty,” Rabb said.  “I think I was kind of disinterested at first.  Kind of trying to feel for the game too much instead of going and demanding the ball like I did more in the second half.  It’s not all on coaches, it’s on me. I have to be more aggressive to start the game.”

In the first half, with SDSU flashing double teams at Rabb on the catch, the 6’10” forward struggled, scoring just three points.  The Bears as a group struggled as well with just six made baskets as they fell behind 42-25 at the break.  In the second half with Rabb energized, the sophomore poured in 16 points and the Bears got with eight points on a couple of occasions.  But clearly Coach Cuonzo Martin had issues with his team’s play at the offensive end where the Aztecs benefitted from 16 Cal turnovers juxtaposed against just seven assists on 17 made baskets.

“I thought they did a great job of setting the tone early,” Martin said.  “Taking away our options offensively, getting out in passing lanes, forcing us to make one-on-one plays.  I thought they did a good job of capitalizing on quick shots, of fast shots, shots we didn’t necessarily want in the offense.”

Rabb led the Bears with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and he had an effective, running mate in Charlie Moore with 17 points on the heels of the freshman’s 38-point explosion against UC Irvine.  But Rabb and Moore didn’t get much help, the other seven Bears that saw action shot 6 for 32 and missed 8 of 11 three-point attempts.

Both the Aztecs and Bears were looking to integrate newly, healthy faces into their lineups on Monday on the big stage of the new Sacramento NBA arena, but in the first half, SDSU looked cohesive with those new faces, while the Bears did not.

The Aztecs’ experienced post guy from Sacramento, Malik Pope punctuated his season debut by scoring SDSU’s first six points of the game, and finished with 14 points, five rebounds.  Key reserves, Max Hoetzel and Valentine Izundu were on the floor for parts of the Aztecs’ first half 11-0 run that saw them lead by as many as 19 points before the half.  Both Hoetzel and Izundu missed San Diego State’s most recent game against San Diego Christian with knee and ankle issues respectively.

“Even though his stat line doesn’t look like it, he was huge,” Coach Steve Fisher said of Izundu, who played 18 of the first twenty minutes after starter Zylan Cheatham picked up two fouls.  “He altered shots, he changed shots, he blocked a shot, he rebounded the ball, he pushed and guarded the post, and really was important to that getting and growing the lead in the first half.”

For Cal, while they got Rabb back on the floor, Jabari Bird missed his second straight game with back issues.  Bird played well in 33 minutes in Cal’s opener against South Dakota State, and practiced over the weekend, but didn’t get cleared to play Monday.  Grant Mullins returned after missing the UC Irvine game, but couldn’t find his shot, missing nine of the 11 shots he took on Monday.

In a game that saw Cal rebound the ball decisively after halftime—they were plus 13 for the game in that category—the Bears suffered to take advantage of their mastery of the glass.  San Diego State harassed Cal into 32 percent shooting for the game, and had a hand in their 16 turnovers as well.

Clearly, the Aztecs built on familiarity with Cal that started last year in Las Vegas when SDSU stormed back in the second half and stunned Cal despite trailing by 15.  In fact, a stat line in the Aztecs’ post-game notes said it all: In the second half of last year’s game, and the first half of Monday’s game, SDSU outscored Cal by 39 points.

“The one thing that we’re better at–that hurt us last year—is we’re better with the ball.  We have been more careful, taken more pride in not turning the ball over.  And that wins for you.  We didn’t have a lot of foolish turnovers.  And we competed hard.  So I told our players, ‘Good win.  And an extremely important win.”

Cal was one of four Pac-12 teams to lose Monday–joining Oregon, Washington State and Colorado—as the conference took a step back in terms of building post-season resumes.  The Aztecs took a step forward in that regard after an embarrassing 21-point loss at Gonzaga last week.  After losing to their Mountain West opponent Monday, the Bears will need better showings against key non-conference opponents Seton Hall, Wyoming and Virginia in the coming weeks.

The Bears return to the floor on Friday night at Haas Pavilion against the Cowboys of Wyoming at 8pm.

Cal opens season with rout of South Dakota State despite Ivan Rabb’s absence

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By Morris Phillips

calbears.com photo: Cal Bears center Kingsly Okoroh takes aim from the free throw line against South Dakota last Friday at Haas Pavilion in downtown Berkeley

BERKELEY–Talk about an opening night surprise.  The Cal Bears hosted a block party, but did so without their resident swat doctor, Ivan Rabb.

Rabb, the pre-season All-American was a late scratch due to a sprained toe, but his teammates didn’t let his absence ruin the festivities, as the Bears ran past South Dakota State, 82-53, registering 10 blocked shots in the rout.

The win was Cal’s 19th consecutive at home, and built on defense, as the Bears came within one blocked shot of the school record of 11, and outrebounded the visiting Jackrabbits 54-26.  Rabb led Cal in blocks with 42 as a freshman, but he hasn’t been cleared to resume physical activity since suffering the toe injury two weeks ago during practice.

“Our guys in the second half did of great job of forcing them to make plays, and our weak-side defenders did a tremendous job of making the next rotation, forcing them to make the next play, the next dribble,” Coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Cal led 40-32 early in the second half, and put the game away with a 30-3 run that had them ahead comfortably, 70-35 with 8:09 remaining.

“I think we came out pressing early to start,” SDSU Coach T.J. Otzelberger said.  “It took us a bit to get going offensively and once they got up on the 9-0 jump, we couldn’t come back. Same thing happened in the second half, after our first basket they went on a heck of a run.”

Without Rabb, Jaylen Brown (off to the NBA as the third pick overall in the draft), Jordan Mathews (transferred to Gonzaga) and graduated senior Tyrone Wallace, the Bears had to find some offense, and did so courtesy of seniors Sam Singer and Jabari Bird, who led Cal with 14 points each.

Roger Moute A Bidias had his biggest game as a Bear, contributing 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, and showing versatility that previously wasn’t a part of his then rudimentary game.  Martin praised the junior for his big game, and the work over the summer that made it possible.

”When I first got the job, he had a lot of work to do,” Martin said of Moute A Bidias.  “He was an athlete. To his credit, he has put a lot of work and time into it.”

The Bears were picked to finish fourth in the competitive Pac-12—behind Arizona, Oregon and UCLA—in a conference pre-season poll.  Rabb is a big piece to such a finish, but starters Bird, Kingsley Okoroh and Stephen Domingo are a big part of that as well.  Okoroh had four blocks, as did backup center Kameron Rooks.  Domingo played just 16 minutes as the starting power forward, but contributed seven points, five rebounds.

Mike Daum, SDSU’s leading, returning scorer who had 27 points in the Jackrabbits’ exhibition win over South Dakota Mines, was held to 14 points, missing nine of his 14 shot attempts.

The Bears next see action on Wednesday when UC Irvine visits Haas Pavilion at 8pm.