Cal’s high point was also the beginning of the end for the Bears on Wednesday at Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena.
A 7-0 run capped by Justice Sueing’s three-point play gave the Bears a 15-13 lead with 9:32 remaining in the first half. It would be the final lead for the Bears on the evening, one they would have two opportunities to extend. But like Cal’s two previous, early leads, the Duck responded with a 3-pointer to regain an advantage.
This time–after Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer– the Ducks took off.
A 17-2 Oregon run put Cal in a double-digit hole at the half. And Oregon methodically maintained their advantage after the break in a 73-62 win.
The Ducks shot 65 percent from the floor after the break, on their way to becoming the 14th Cal opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor. And while lack of defense was Cal’s biggest issue, it wasn’t their only one.
The Bears got outrebounded 33-23, and while they got to the foul line, and converted (16 of 19), that wasn’t nearly enough to overcome horrid 39 percent shooting from the floor.
The result? Another loss, just not one stuffed with embarrassment. The Bears never let the Ducks run away, but they never caught up either, trailing for the game’s final 30 minutes. Now with an 0-10 record in conference play, the Bears must remain vigilant or confront being the first Pac-12 team to go winless in league play since Oregon State in 2008, a year before Utah and Colorado joined the conference.
Without looking ahead, the Bears don’t want to look back either: they’ve dropped 13 consecutive, conference road games and 18 overall dating back to last season.
Pritchard paced Oregon with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three other starters scored in double figures led by Louis King with 12.
“I liked our pace in this game,” Pritchard said. “Defensively, we got some steals to easy looks. We were running it up. Guys were attacking in the seams and it allowed everyone else to get open.”
Justice Sueing led Cal with 17 points, and Paris Austin and Connor Vanover added 12 each.
The Bears continue their Northwest swing on Saturday at Oregon State with the tipoff at 2:30 pm.
The Stanford Cardinal, coming off a two-game winning streak, made sure to pay the Oregon State Beavers a visit inside the Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore. Thursday night. The tipoff has been set to 7:00 pm PT on the Pac-12 Network.
The Cardinal’s last two wins occurred at Cal in a 84-81 thriller on February 3rd and at home–Maples Pavilion–versus the Colorado State Buffaloes 75-62 on January 26th. The Cardinal has been a wishy-washy team this season, but at least they aren’t in the abyss like my alma mater, San Jose State Spartans, or some other hapless men’s basketball team out there.
Anyways, the Cardinal and Cal Bears were more of a Bay Area rivalry than anything else. The Cardinal has to be focused on the road ahead in the Pacific Northwest as the Beavers and Ducks will likely be tough customers. And, of course, the home court advantage that often shifts the game in favor of the home team.
Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase told the local media that Bryce Wills has been making plays and growing each game. Wills currently holds a career-high of 16 points. That’s definitely a good thing as the Cardinal need all the help they can get.
Before the Stanford vs. Oregon State game, it was announced that KZ Okpala was named one of ten finalists for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. Okpala was joined by Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura, Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter, Kentucky’s Keldon Johnson, Nevada’s Caleb Martin, Michigan’s Charles Matthews, Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield, Iowa State’s Marial Shayok, Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle, and Belmont’s Dylan Windler.
Okpala leads Stanford in scoring (18.1 points per game), rebounding (6.1 rebounds per game), three-point field goal percentage (.410), free throws (87) and minutes (33.0 mpg). He ranks third in the Pac-12 in scoring, fifth in three-point field goal percentage, and 14th in rebounding. In conference play, the forward is averaging 20.4 points per game (ranks second) and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Okpala scored a career-high 30 points at Cal and leads the Pac-12 with 12 games of 20 points or more this season. He’s one of 10 individuals in the nation to average 21.0 points per game or better in their last six games.
“KZ has been a rock for us,” said the Cardinal’s Anne and Tony Joseph Director of Men’s Basketball. “He’s a foundational piece for everything we do. There’s so much more for him to grow, but he’s really developing very quickly. He certainly deserves the recognition. It is great to see him among the 10 candidates for this prestigious award.”
The nation has been taking notice of Okpala, including ESPN College Basketball Analyst Jay Bilas.
San Jose State men’s basketball player Noah Baumann was named as a Student-Athlete of the Month for January, presented by O’Connor Hospital.
Baumann opened up Mountain West play with a bang as he averaged 11.0 points per game in the first eight games of conference play. He was the only player on the men’s basketball team to start in every Mountain West game in January. Baumann, who’s known for his lethal 3-pointer, shot 41.3% from beyond the arc in January. The Phoenix, Ariz., product finished the month with back-to-back double digit scoring efforts against Air Force (12) and Utah State (15).
On January 16, Baumann had one of the best games of his career as he tied the school record with seven 3-pointers made and finished with a career-high 29 points, the most points scored by any Spartan this season.
californiagoldenblogs.com photo: The Stanford Cardinal and Cal Bears do battle last Sunday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley
On the Cal Bears podcast with Michael and Morris:
#1 Another tough loss for the Cal Bears (5-16) on Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion as the Bears lost to the visiting Stanford Cardinal (11-10) 84-81.
#2 The Cardinal’s KZ Okpala led with 30 points and eight rebounds. He was hard to contain for the Bears all afternoon.
#3 Okpala had his 12th game scoring 20 or more points last season. He scored 20 or more points eight times. He’s been a force and had given the Bears fits to contain him.
#4 According to Stanford coach Jerod Haase, Okpala has some more developing to go. He’s working out just fine and provided the nine of the last 19 points of the game that really put a crimp in Cal’s game.
#5 The Bears are in Oregon (13-9) for Wednesday, Feb. 6th. Morris sets up that game.
The Stanford Cardinal tipped off against the Cal Bears Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. The Bears have been struggling all season long and the Cardinal entered the game with a mediocre record of 10-10. As followers of both schools know, records do not count when the two teams meet in any type of athletic competition. The Bears, 0-8 in Pac-12 play, wanted desperately to beat the Cardinal. Conversely, The Cardinal did not want to be the first Pac-12 team to be beaten by the Bears.
The teams went at it tooth and nail in the first 20 minutes of action. The lead changed hands several times and the game was tied at least three times in the first half. The Bears led 29-24 when Justice Sueing made a bucket and was fouled on the play. He then made the free throw. The Cardinal’s Cormac Ryan hit a three and Lukas Kisunas followed with his first basket of the night to tie the score at 29. The teams tied again at 31 and 35 each. Cal’s Matt Bradley knocked down a three to make it 38-35. Stanford made a basket and the first half finished with the Bears ahead 38-37. Okpala led the Cardinal with 11 points. Oscar da Silva and Daejon Davis each had 5. Sueing led the Bears with 10. Big Connor Vanover, who is 7 feet 3 inches tall contributed 8. Paris Austin had 6.
It was more of the same in the second half. Neither team would give an inch. If one team went on a small run, the other team fought back to either tie the game or take the lead. Stanford led early, but Cal came back to tie. The Bears tied at 58. The Bears led 66-51 but Stanford kept coming back and the Cardinal, led by KZ Okapala’s 30 points, was able to hold off the Bears as the won 84-81.
Here’s how the game ended. he Bears’ Matt Bradley drove the baseline for an apparent tying bucket. The Cardinal’s big Josh Sharma appeared to have fouled Bradley on the play. After a review, the call was reversed and the ball given to the Cardinal. Had Bradley been awarded the free throws, he could have tied the game. The Cardinal had the ball and ran out the clock to win the game 84-81.
Game Notes: The loss was the Bears tenth in a row and matches the longest streak in school history. The Bears are 5-16 for the season and 0-9 in the Pac-12. The Cardinal’s record is now 11-10 and they are 4-5 in the Pac-12.
Okpala had a career-high of 30 points to lead Stanford. Bryce Wills had 16, Daejon Davis 14, Oscar Da Silva 7 Cormac Ryan, 7. Justice Sueing paced the Bears with 23. Paris Austin had 15, Matt Bradley 13, and Connor Vanover 15.
While this is the third year in a row that the Cardinal is having a so-so season, there is a reason to have hope that the future will be brighter for Stanford as 11 of the 15 players on the squad are either freshman or sophomores. That should bode well for Cardinal coach Jerrod Haase.
Up Next: The Cardinal return to action Thursday night when they face the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis, Ore.
BERKELEY, Calif. — The made shots, assists, team effort and the coaching staff’s approval all leaned heavily toward the Cal Bears on Sunday afternoon.
The critical, late game calls made by the officials did not.
The Bears appeared to gain an 83-83 tie on Matt Bradley’s physical drive for a bucket and a foul, but a video replay compelled the referees to reverse the call, wipe out the basket, and put Stanford in the driver’s seat with 13 seconds remaining.
Both coaches weighed in on the critical call, and both admitted the situation left them powerless and in hope that the whistle simply went their way.
“First of all, I didn’t know that you would overturn a call,” coach Wyking Jones said. “Mike Reed is a great official and he went to the monitor and saw something different, so I have to respect the call.”
“It was some kind of a dire situation so I felt very excited when they went to the monitor that there was still hope,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase admitted.
Instead of Cal tying the game and getting an opportunity at the foul stripe to establish a one-point lead, Stanford’s KZ Okpala made one of two free throw attempts to increase Stanford’s lead to three. Seconds later, Paris Austin’s 3-point attempt fell woefully short and the Cardinal escaped.
The Bears fell to 0-9 in Pac-12 conference play, and lost for a school-record tying tenth, consecutive time. The Bears last lost 10 straight in 1962.
Stanford won for the third time in their last four outings, and stayed above .500 at 11-10.
Okpala, Stanford’s emerging sophomore who is gaining interest from the NBA, led the Cardinal with 19 of his career-best 30 points after halftime.
Justice Sueing paced Cal with 23 points. Paris Austin and 7’2″ Connor Vanover contributed 15 points each.
Jones vowed that his Bears would respond with a better effort following a full week of preparation, and they did give Stanford fits with pressure defenses that forced the majority of the Cardinal’s 18 turnovers. The Bears led by one at the half, and extended their lead to 56-49 with 12:44 remaining.
But Stanford–which countered their issues holding on to the basketball with 57 percent shooting from the floor–responded with a run at that point and forced the Bears to beat them with late game execution.
The result was a devastating loss decided in the final seconds, but the effort was laudable, far more than in the nine losses that preceded Sunday.
“They emptied the tank today,” Jones said. “I felt they gave us everything they had. They played together. They looked like a cohesive group. I’m very proud of the effort and the fight that they showed today, but we came up short.”
Cal heads to Oregon for a Wednesday night game at 6:30 pm PT.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball had yet to win a conference game and the fiery San Diego State Aztecs proved to be another tough opponent for the sluggish home team Saturday night at the Event Center.
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with a starting lineup of Noah Baumann, Seneca Knight, Craig LeCesne, Ashtin Chastain and Michael Steadman.
SJSU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as LeCesne hit a 3-pointer just 36 seconds into the first half. But SDSU took over for quite a while as four of their players (Matt Mitchell, Jalen McDaniels, Jeremy Hemsley and Devin Watson) hit back-to-back 3s in a span of two minutes and 44 seconds. The Aztecs continued pouring in the points as McDaniels knocked down two jumpers, but the Spartans put an end to the Aztecs’ 13-0 run as Chastain made a layup at the 14:18 mark.
Not only that, SJSU inched their way back into the game. Steadman made a layup, Brae Ivey hit a 3, Knight added a layup, and then Chappell hit a 3 to make it a 1-point game with 7:38 left. The Spartans temporarily took a 17-16 lead on Chastain’s layup, but Hemsley hastily responded with a 3 for a 19-17 Aztecs lead with 5:46 left. Watson knocked down a jumper to extend the Aztecs’ lead to 21-17 with 4:58 left.
The game remained in a back-and-forth affair to close out the first. Ivey knocked down a jumper, Aguek Arop knocked down a paint jumper and Steadman made a layup. However, SJSU was unable to carry a lead to the locker room at halftime as they trailed 25-21. SDSU definitely benefited from Watson’s layup, which extended the lead to 25-21 with 1:13 left.
It was all SDSU to start the second half. McDaniels knocked down a jumper and a paint jumper in a span of 36 seconds. It was SJSU’s turn when Ivey knocked down a jumper at the 18:19 mark. The Spartans went on miniature runs that helped them inch their way back into the game in subtle ways. But the Spartans turned the ball over three times in two minutes with 7:21 left.
Fast forward to the final media timeout of the evening. SJSU trailed 57-44 with four minutes left. The Spartans were still in it, but they had their work cut out for them. The Spartans went on a 6-0 run, thanks to Knight’s 3 and LeCesne’s pair of fastbreak free throws and then a free throw.
The game didn’t really end as a back-and-forth affair. If there was a silver lining for SJSU, it’d be Baumann’s 3 with 10 seconds left. But Baumann wasn’t enough to save the day for the Spartans, who lost 67-56 and dropped to 3-18, 0-9 MW. The Aztecs rose to 13-8, 5-3 MW.
SJSU kicks off a two-game road trip next Saturday against the Boise State Broncos at 11:00 am PT.
#1 The Cardinal (10-10) came off a loss to the Utah Utes prior to last Saturday’s game. With the Colorado Buffaloes (11-8) and the Cardinal, who came in with some motivation, pulled off a win 75-62.
#2 Dorian Pickens was key for Stanford’s last season’s lead as he led with 18 points and the Cardinal who behind 16 points came back against Colorado showing the Cardinal trying win these games against Colorado. The Buffaloes rattled off six points with Tyler Bey’s help.
#3 Cormac Ryan did not play. He continues to sit out with ankle concerns.
#4 Sophomore Oscar Da Silva scored all of Stanford’s first eight points, which included a pair of threes in the first five minutes.
#5 The Cardinal next head to Berkeley to take on Cal on February 3rd in the first of three road games.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball welcomes conference foe San Diego State to the Event Center on Saturday for a 6:00 pm tip. Justin Allegri will have the call for the Mountain West Network and can also be heard on the TuneIn app.
Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s game.
Game No. 21
San Diego State (12-8, 4-3) at San Jose State (3-17, 0-8)
Saturday, Feb. 2, 6:00 pm PT
The Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.
Live Stats
Fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the “Live Stats” feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men’s basketball schedule page to follow the action
TuneIn
Check out the video below for a quick tutorial on how to access the Spartans’ radio call on the TuneIn app.
What Would a Win Mean?
The Spartans snapping an 11-game losing skid. It would also be the Spartans’ second win over the Aztecs in the last five tries.
The Power of Newcomers
The Spartans have played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 67.3% of the Spartans’ offense.
Steadman alone is accounting for 20% of the team’s offense with 266 points.
Baumann the Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann is shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he leads the Mountain West in 3-point percentage at 49.5%. Baumann also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.5).
In the loss to Utah State, Baumann had one of the most impressive performances of his career as he scored a career-high 29 points and tied the school record with seven 3-pointers (7-of-10). He also set career highs in 3-point attempts and field goal attempts.
Baumann holds the first and third highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 vs. USU and 23 vs. Northern Arizona. The sophomore is averaging 11.0 points in conference play, second-most on the team (Steadman).
Baumann has hit at least one 3-point basket in 18 straight games this season, which is the second-longest streak in school history with a 3-pointer made and longest since Robert Owens closed out the 2009-10 season on a 21-game streak.
Last season as a freshman, Baumann finished the year 40-for-87 (.460) from the 3-point range. He has already eclipsed those numbers with 10 regular season games to go (49-99, .495).
Chastain in Charge
Junior center Ashtin Chastain has been tasked to fill in the gap in the starting lineup with senior Oumar Barry sidelined by injury. Chastain has started the last three games in his stead and is averaging 6.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in those starts.
Chastain scored seven points in the first start at Wyoming and followed up with with a career-high 13 rebounds in a season-high 39 minutes vs. Air Force. He tallied a season-high eight points in the loss at USU.
Ch-Ch-Changes
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.
Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10” forward is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game and ranks sixth in the MW with 8.8 rebounds per game. Steadman has seven double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the conference and has scored in double figures in 17-of-20 games. He also has nine games with double-digit rebounds.
Steadman is coming off back-to-back games with at least 20 points. He put up a career-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss to AF. He then followed up with 20 points at USU.
Change It Up
Prioleau has used nine different lineups throughout the season with no one player starting each time out. Barry had started the first 17 games before an injury kept him out of the lineup the last two games. Seven newcomers have made starts, including freshmen Seneca Knight, Zach Chappell, and Trey Smith.
Still One of the Best
The Spartans are one of two teams that rank in the top four in both offensive and defensive rebounds per game in conference play. SJSU ranks fourth in offensive with 12.4 per game and third in defensive with 25.8 per game. USU’s the other team.
Foul Play
SJSU has committed the fewest fouls in the MW this season with 16.8 per game and ranks 61st nationally in the category.
Series History vs. San Diego State
The Aztecs lead the series by a slim margin of 38-38, but have claimed nine of the last 10, including the last two. The Spartans’ last win came on February 7, 2017 at home in a 76-71 victory. Prior to that win, SDSU had a seven-game win streak, the second-longest streak in the series. The longest such streak belongs to the Spartans, who won nine-straight from 1948 to 1952.
The Aztecs, under second-year head coach Brian Dutcher, enter Saturday’s game on a two-game win streak after taking down UNLV (94-77) and AF (66-51). They have three players currently averaging more than 10 points per game led by Jalen McDaniels, a sophomore who nearly averaged a double-double with 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
1. San Jose State men’s basketball fell to Air Force 73-71 in double overtime at the Event Center last Saturday.
2. SJSU men’s basketball got blown out by Utah State 103-73 in Smith Spectrum Wednesday.
3. SJSU football, SJSU Beyond Football, and Autism Speaks partnered up to host a special walk to raise awareness on Autism on April 14th.
4. Matt Maiocco, the 49ers beat writer at NBC Sports Bay Area, mentioned SJSU tight end Josh Oliver in a recent article asking “Can 49ers find tight end to pair with George Kittle?’
Sports Radio Service 