Tag: Sam Alajiki

Cal Competes: Regular season concludes with painful 69-66 loss at Oregon State

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By Morris Phillips

Cal’s 15 consecutive losses haven’t often been competitive or engaging. That wasn’t the case on Saturday in Corvallis, where the Bears built a substantial lead that held up throughout the game’s first 27 minutes.

The Bears led by as many as 16 points and took their final lead with 29 seconds remaining. But the visitors came up empty on their final, two possessions in a 69-66 loss to Oregon State.

“A heartbreaking loss,” Cal coach Mark Fox said. “I feel awful for everybody because they did everything we asked them to do.”

Oregon State snapped a four-game losing streak but had to dig deep to prevail. The Beavers trailed 32-16 late in the first half.

“It was all Cal,” coach Wayne Tinkle said. “They were focused, and I think they knocked us back and caused a little cloudiness early.”

The loss mattered little in regards to Cal’s seeding for the conference tournament that begins Wednesday in Las Vegas. The Bears will open the tournament against Arizona State or red-hot Washington State as the 12th seed.

The game was physical throughout and whistle-filled. That allowed the hosts to recover with 24 of 29 shooting from the foul line that brought them even with 13 minutes remaining. The game became a see-saw affair at that point, with both teams afforded opportunities to seize control. Oregon State’s biggest lead of 64-61 with 2:03 remaining was immediately wiped out as Cal scored five of the next six points, capped by Grant Newell’s jumper with 29 seconds left.

Michael Rataj scored to put OSU in front with 15 seconds left, and Cal saw the same game lost as Sam Alajiki stepped out of bounds with nine seconds remaining and Joel Brown, who led Cal with 22 points, missed a wild 3-pointer at the final buzzer.

Glenn Taylor Jr. paced OSU with 28 points, and Jordan Pope added 17.

Bears Bow Quietly: Cal dumped by Arizona 85-62 at Haas Pavilion

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–A quiet evening inside Haas Pavilion resulted in a 13th consecutive loss to Arizona, a clear sign that things aren’t right within the Cal basketball program.

But they did display enough resolve to avoid a fifth, consecutive game with fewer than 50 points. They didn’t, however, come up with enough resistance for Arizona’s Oumar Ballo and Azoulas Tubelis, who ruled the paint and scored at will.

“We started poorly and dug ourselves our hole,” coach Mark Fox said. “We just weren’t big enough, physical enough to get some things done in there.”

The Bears missed their first seven shot attempts and faced an early double-digit deficit before settling in and competing. But that just got the hosts to halftime, trailing 42-30.

At that juncture, the Wildcats took off, leading by as much as 25 points and cruising to their 22nd win of the season.

Tubelis led the visitors with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and Ballo contributed 14 points, nine rebounds giving the Cats a decisive, 46-30 edge on the glass.

Cal again operated with a guard-deficient starting lineup without the injured Devin Askew. That placed 6’9″, Kuany Kuany in Cal’s starting backcourt but his presence did little to disrupt the Arizona pace and nationally heralded, transition attack.

Arizona finished with 50 percent shooting from the floor and 11 made threes as they slightly outpaced their conference-leading 83 points per game.

Cal was led by Sam Alajiki with 12 points and Lars Thiemann with 10. The Bears have dropped eight straight contests and are in the midst of a fifth 20-game losing season in the last six.

The biggest negative within the Cal program may have been the game’s attendance with the announced crowd at 3,289.

Bears Hibernation Continues: Cal runs into a mountain in 61-46 loss at Utah

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By Morris Phillips

Sitting on 19 losses and inevitably headed toward an undesired historical 20th loss, the Cal Bears started Sunday needing to fess up to one fair conclusion.

They’re currently not talented enough to compete in the Pac-12… with or without injuries, with or without USC and UCLA or any number of other considerations.

It’s not a good look, and a trip to Utah’s Huntsman Center certainly didn’t change that. The Bears fared no better in a dreary 61-46 loss to the Utes that leaves them as the only program to suffer three consecutive 20-loss seasons in Pac-12 history.

Cal trailed at halftime and then went the first six-plus minutes of the second half without a made basket. That allowed the hosts to extend their lead to as many as 20 points and cruise in beating the Bears for a fifth, consecutive time dating back to 2021.

“We had a very poor start to the second half for sure,” coach Mark Fox said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays. Offensively, we just don’t have enough playmaking on the floor.”

Without leading scorer Devin Askew and experienced scorer DeJuan Clayton, who was absent due to an undisclosed illness, the Bears scored fewer than 50 points for the fourth straight game. The Bears played at their familiar, plodding pace but again had issues with turnovers, committing ten. Fox admitted the pace was what he wanted, but the lack of shotmaking sabotaged their effort.

“Until we can get somebody back we’re going to have to try to be elite defensively,” Fox said.

Lars Thiemann led Cal with 12 points, and Kuany Kuany added 11. Starting point guard Joel Brown failed to be a bigger factor, playing just 24 minutes with two shot attempts and one assist.

Utah guard Lazar Stefanovic led the Utes with 15 points, six assists and three of his teammates also finished with double-digit scoring. Utah wasn’t much better shooting the ball than Cal at 37 percent from the floor, but they got nine made threes from four of their starting quintet.

Cal (3-20, 2-10) fell to 0-8 in true road games and are fortunate to have their next two games at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley with Arizona up first on Thursday evening.

Stanford more than prepared for Cal in 75-46 win at Maples Pavilion

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By Morris Phillips

STANFORD, CA–The hot-shooting Bears that throttled Stanford on January 6 didn’t necessarily impress their coach, Mark Fox. That same group arrived at Stanford on Saturday night without the shooting acumen, and they didn’t impress Fox either.

“I thought our defensive frustrations carried over to the offensive end and give them credit,” Fox said. “They made a bunch of baskets, we couldn’t string together any stops, and you can’t win that way on the road.”

Host Stanford raced to an 11-point halftime lead and led by as many as 37 in an easy 75-46 win over visiting Cal. Offensively, the Bears miserly 30 percent shooting didn’t put them in position to compete.

The Cardinal dominated the glass with a 47-30 edge in rebounds and used their physicality to deny the Bears. The win was Stanford’s fourth straight in what otherwise has been a frustrating season for them.

Maxime Raynaud led the Cardinal with 15 points, and Harrison Ingram added 14. Four other Stanford players scored at least eight points in a balanced effort offensively.

The Bears fell into last place in the Pac-12 with the loss and have lost all five contests since beating Stanford at the beginning of this month.

Cal travels to Colorado on Thursday tomeet the Buffs in hopes of ending their most recent losing streak.

Shooters Roll: Cal hits school-record 16 threes in 92-70 wipeout of Stanford

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The Golden Bears weren’t just seeking a signature win over their most significant opponent. They were looking to write the resulting headlines as well. Breaking out a new star and setting a new shooting standard accomplished both.

Cal’s 92-70 win over Stanford featured DeJuan Clayton’s 26 points, and the team’s school record 16 made 3-pointers, but it marked the coming together of a team that got no positive reinforcement over the season’s first eight weeks as the losses and humiliation piled up.

But with wins in three of their last four outings–after 12 consecutive losses–the Bears are showing themselves to be engaged despite the rough start with Clayton as their focal point.

“We found a rhythm, and it’s amazing the difference DeJuan makes in our team,” coach Mark Fox said. “You’ve seen it the last couple of games. If we had him the first 13 games, who knows what we could have been. He was terrific in his ability to score the ball, but he also had six assists, no turnovers. He makes everyone better.”

Clayton was a perfect 4 for 4 from distance, leading Cal to a 45-37 lead at halftime. The Bears overcame a hot start from Stanford, which made its first six shots from the floor to lead 12-10. But the Bears kept coming with eight made threes and 64 percent shooting before the break.

“We’re not the 0-12 team you guys saw,” said Sam Alajiki. “We didn’t have DeJuan. We didn’t get to play together a lot. We are a completely different team now. Everyone can feel it.”

Alijiki contributed 19 points, Kuany Kuany added 18, and Joel Brown, one game removed from his career-best 21 points, piled up the assists with seven. With so many positive contributions, the Bears managed without injured Devin Askew, and with Lars Thiemann taking just three shots.

Stanford kept pace until the Bears seized control after the game was tied at 32. The Bears scored 13 of the final 18 points before the break and didn’t relent in the second half, leading by as many as 23 with 4:59 remaining.

Stanford received 14 points from Michael Jones, 13 from Spencer Jones, and 12 each from Maxime Raynaud and Isa Silva. The Cardinal have opened Pac-12 play with five losses, with this one easily the most lopsided.

“The 3-point shooting built confidence for the rest of their team,” said coach Jerod Haase, who has seen his team win just five times in 15 outings.

The Bears next travel to Washington to face the Cougars and Huskies with the trip to Pullman first on Wednesday.

Huskies Find Clear Sledding: Washington’s big run carries them past Cal, 64-55

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By Morris Phillips

No, Alaska Airlines Arena wasn’t the place to find a pair of polished products on Wednesday night, but for either Washington or Cal, making a noticeable step in that direction was a reasonable goal.

Put together 40 minutes of cohesive basketball, find bursts of offense from a defensive-minded group, and beat a vulnerable opponent on the road?

Apparently, the Bears aren’t quite ready to do that just yet.

Washington rode a late, 15-0 run, largely fueled by referee whistles that didn’t favor Cal, to a 64-55 win, proving the hosts are closer to competency within the challenging Pac-12 landscape.

“Our defense wasn’t as good,” coach Mark Fox said of the decisive second half that saw Cal outscored 37-21. “We turned the ball over another eight times in the second half. And we couldn’t score.”

The Bears didn’t start well either. They missed eight of their first 12 shots, and committed seven turnovers in the first 12 minutes. The Huskies better navigated the early minutes with a balanced attack that only needed two points from leading scorer Terrell Brown Jr. A steal and breakaway dunk from Daejon Davis put UW up 21-13 at the 8:09 mark.

Cal was without starting point guard Joel Brown who was not with the team, and left back in Berkeley with an undisclosed illness. Jarred Hyder started in Brown’s place. Sparkplug Sam Alajiki returned after missing the previous, two games, and Kuany Kuany returned to the starting lineup after playing in reserve against UCLA. Fox called Kuany’s one-game demotion a teaching moment.

Aided by reserves Alajiki, Jared Celestine and Lars Thiemann, the Bears found their groove in the final minutes of the half. A 10-1 run gave them the lead, and they didn’t stop there. The visitors built a seven-point, halftime lead, and briefly led by nine to open the second half.

At that point Brown turned it up a notch, and brought the crowd’s energy with him. The Seattle native responded with 18 of his 21 points after the break, apparently the result of his coaches and teammates getting him in the right frame of mind during earlier timeouts.

“Everybody kept giving me confidence,” Brown said. “Coach Hop told me to play basketball. They’re going to junk it up, but you can junk it up too and find different areas to attack. It was just me playing free.”

Cal clung to a lead until eight minutes remained, but the 15-0 run wiped them out, leaving them in a 62-51 disadvantage with 3:37 left. Within the run, Kuany drew a flagrant foul call for having his arms horizontal, not vertical, after securing a rebound, but contacting P.J. Fuller’s face trying to avoid being stripped. That led to a pair of made free throws, and possession for Washington. They maxed that with Brown’s flashy spin and jumpshot that left Kuany flailing and the crowd howling with pleasure.

“His feet kind of just left him and I’m watching the ball go up in the air and I see it rolling around and I’m like, ‘that’s going in.'” Davis said of Brown and Kuany’s viral moment.

The Bears managed just one more made basket in the final minutes–from Shepherd with 16 seconds left–and never really made noise. The ending seemed surreal because the Bears disappeared so completely.

Cal attempted just five free throws, a season low, and leading scorer Andre Kelly took seven shots and was limited to four points.

“There were some guys in uncomfortable positions,” Fox said. “That’s the hand we’re dealt right now. We’re going to have to figure out how to play without a couple guys.”

Cal concludes their Northwest swing in Pullman against a talented, high-scoring Washington State team on Saturday at 1:00pm.