Tag: Sports Radio Service

Rams Beat San Francisco Almost Extinguishing Playoff Hopes 12-6; Rams 4 field goals do in SF

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Los Angeles Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom front right puts the tackle on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel center in first half action at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco 49ers (6-8) lost a critical game to their rival the Los Angeles Rams (8-6) 12-6 as rain soaked Levi’s Stadium. The inclement weather didn’t help the sloppy play that this game revealed. Over 71,-000 fans were present despite the weather hoping the team would keep their playoff hopes alive.

What they got was a stinker of a game. Quarterback Brock Purdy finished the game with 142 passing yards, three sacks, one interception and no touchdowns. San Francisco did hold a 6-3 lead going into the fourth quarter but came up short when the Rams scored three field goals in the final quarter.

Game recap: The first quarter of this game was wet and sloppy, in fact it would rain throughout the entire first half. After the first 15 minutes of play San Francisco came away with a single field goal and a 3-0 lead. Jake Moody connected for a 53 yard field goal. There were seven punts in the opening quarter.

The second quarter was equally sloppy for both teams. Los Angeles did tie up the game with a 48 yard field goal courtesy of kicker Joshua Karty 3-3. That would be the only points scored in the first half. Both quarterbacks struggled in the first half although both teams were able to get within field goal range. It was a bizarre first half, an offensive struggle with some solid defense.

The 49ers would kick their second field goal of the game to take a 6-3 lead in the third quarter. Jake Moody kicked a 47 yard field goal taking the 6-3 lead into the fourth quarter. Going into the half, the rain came to an end which could possibly make for some much improved football.

The Rams saved the best for last kicking three field goals in the final quarter of play. San Francisco could not keep them out of field goal range. Los Angeles’ kicker Joshua Karty kicked a 23 yarder at 13:38, a second kick for 27 yards at 9:28 and a third field goal with 18 second left in the game for 29 yards taking a 12-6 lead which would be the final. The Rams while unable to score any touchdowns but were able to drive deep into San Francisco territory three times to take the lead and win this game.

It was only four days ago that San Francisco won the highest scoring game of this year’s season. Thursday night they couldn’t get anything going. Of course the weather had a lot to do with the outcome but the Rams also had the same challenge.

Los Angeles did a better job on the ground with 142 yards rushing to San Francisco’s 63 yards. It was a tough night for S.F. quarterback Brock Purdy who finished with 142 yards passing yards, three sacks, one interception and no touchdowns.

San Francisco had driven into field goal range when Purdy was intercepted. This game turned into a punt-athon with neither team scoring a touchdown the entire game. This was the first time since 2019 that San Francisco had failed to score a touchdown.

The Rams were able to get a little more offense than San Francisco did. It was not either teams finest hour although the Rams had more fight than the 49ers did considering the importance that this game carried for both teams.

Los Angeles deserves a lot of credit for being able to find a way to win Thursday night. They are now a 1/2 game behind the division leading Seattle Seahawks after starting off the season 1-4.

Game notes: The 49ers took on the Rams in a prime time Thursday Night Football showdown. This was a crucial game for San Francisco if they were to have any chance for a wild card spot in the playoffs. It was a huge game for the Rams as well who are now two games ahead of San Francisco improve their record to 8-6 record.

San Francisco remains short-handed in the running back position but had the services of Isaac Guerendo. The weather could not have been worse for this all-important game with a drizzle to steady rain. This was just another obstacle for San Francisco to contend with.

San Francisco will not take the field until December 22 in a game with the Miami Dolphins. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:25 PM. With three games left in the season San Francisco’s hopes for a wild card berth are dwindling.

Kings Beat Pelicans 111-109 Extending Win Streak to Three

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The Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) and guard Malik Monk (0) celebrates Sabonis’ 3 point shot against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night the Sacramento Kings (13-13) beat the New Orleans Pelicans (5-21) in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. It was not easy by any means but they discouraged two straight Pelican stops closing out the game and sealing the deal.

Domantas Sabonis had a season-high 32 points with 20 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan finished the game with 29 points and De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray each had 18 points. Sacramento now has a .500 record at 13-13.

Game recap: After the first 12 minutes of play the Kings held a slim lead 28-26 and as play wore on the Pelicans, despite being short-handed, were going to be a handful. New Orleans outscored the Kings in the second quarter 29-25 and led at the half 55-53. Sacramento would be looking for a dominating second half as they’ve seen in the past.

The Kings were dominant in the third quarter outscoring the Pelicans 38-28 and taking an eight point lead 91-83 going into the fourth quarter. Neither team was able to score in the opening 1 1/2 minutes of play.

New Orleans was able to outscore the Kings in the final quarter 26-20 but came up just short unable to make up the eight point lead Sacramento had established. The Kings took as much as a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter.

With under five minutes left in the game, the Pelicans began to chip away at the Sacramento lead. With under two minutes left in the game the Kings were clinging to a three-point lead 109-106. Sacramento was unable to score at all in the final 1:41 left in the game.

The Pelicans had a huge opportunity with two straight defensive stops with under a minute left on the clock but could not score. Malik Monk blocked a Dejounte Murray shot that was rebounded by Domantas Sabonis and that was the ball game 111-109.

The 111 points scored by the KIngs tied their season low in this very tight contest. Domantas Sabonis really stepped up for this game scoring a season high 32 points and another double double with 20 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan chipped in 29 points.

De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray each scored 18 points. Murray also had a great defensive game with 10 rebounds. Sacramento had a great night at the line shooting at 93% a vast improvement. Ball protection was also a part of this win with only 11 turnovers. Sacramento hung on for dear life but came out on top in this game pushing their season record to 13-13.

Game notes: The Kings had a great start to the 2024-25 season. Through the first seven games the Kings were holding down sixth place in net rating. This was a significant improvement over last season when they finished in 17th in the net rating.

The Kings went on to finish with a 46-36 record exiting in the Play-In Tournament. Back in early November, they were fifth in offensive rating and 12th in defensive rating both an improvement over last season.

Things got a bit spotty going into the second week of November. They really fell on hard times around mid-November dropping four games in a row. They have seemed to have pulled it all together recently beating the highly rated Houston Rockets and winning three of four games.

Thursday night they played the struggling Pelicans and got their third win in a row and getting back to a decent .500. The Pelicans Brandon Ingram is out until Jan. 3rd and of course they will also be without Zion WIlliamson.

The days of beating Sacramento every time they met up is over for New Orleans with the loss tonight for the Pelicans. Last season the Kings lost all six games in their matchups. The Kings are now getting back to good health after a tough time dealing with injuries.

With only Trey Lyles listed as out, the Kings have everyone on board. There is also Devin Carter, the Kings first round draft pick who has not seen any action due to an offseason shoulder injury. The win tonight was ideal but going forward how do the King’s bounce back after losses: that is equally important. Right now the win Thursday night was big for Sacramento and taking it one game at a time.

The Pelicans are reeling from the second most players lost to injury this season. Only the Memphis Grizzlies have more. They were without Karlo Matkovic, Jordan Hawkins, Brandon Ingram, Jose Alvarado, and Javonte Green who is listed as questionable. Zion Williamson missed his 17th game.

The Kings will now have another three days off before taking on the Denver Nuggets at Golden 1 Center next Monday evening. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 PM as Sacramento seeks their fourth win in a row.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Pacioretty’s two goals lifts Leafs over Ducks 3-2; Pens bowl over Habs in Montreal 9-2; plus more NHL news

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Toronto Maple Leaf left winger Max Pacioretty gets some congratulations from teammates after scoring a first period goal against the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Max Pacioretty scored two goals and had three points for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks Thursday in Toronto. The Leafs William Nylander scored and John Taveras had two assists as the Maple Leafs improved their record to 18-9-2.

#2 It wasn’t even a contest as the Pittsburgh Penguins rolled over the Montreal Canadiens 9-2 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Penguins got a hat trick and one assist out of Bryan Rust. Rust and Richard Rakell each had four points. It was a landslide for the Habs over the Pens.

#3 The New Jersey Devils Jack Hughes scored a goal and got two assists to help pace New Jersey over the the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 at Newark New Jersey. The win gives New Jersey their second win on the five game homestand. The Devils Jordan Spence scored and goaltender David Rittch stopped 23 shots. The Kings had a six game win streak snapped by New Jersey.

#4 Aliaksei Protas of the Washington Capitals scored a game winning overtime goal to help defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus 2-1. The goal by Protas came at 2:23 and it gave the Capitals their tenth straight win on the road for the season.

#5 The Philadelphia Flyers Scott Laughton did all the heavy lifting for the Flyers scoring all four goals in the Flyers 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night. It’s the first time a Flyer had scored all four goals in a game since John LeClair did it on Oct 15, 2002.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts weekly at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal MBB podcast with Michael Roberson: Cardinal host Merrimack Tuesday; Stanford has won eight of last ten

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Stanford Cardinal Forward Maxime Raynaud acknowledges the crowd as he and the Cardinal took on the Cal Bears on Sat Dec 14, 2024 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (Stanford Cardinal photo)

Stanford Cardinal MBB podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 Last game for the Stanford Cardinal it was their first Big Game of the season battling the Cal Bears at Haas Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinal came away with a 89-81 win in a game they led for most of the way.

#2 Stanford is rolling they improved to 8-2 with the win and they had their way with Cal with five Cardinal finishing in double figures.

#3 The Cardinal Maxime Raynaud has been hard to stop, Raynaud has scored 20 points in his last seven games.

#4 Jaylen Blakes had six assists and two blocked shots. It should be also mentioned that Raynaud had a career best five blocked shots.

#5 Stanford gets back into action against the Merrimack Warriors on Tue Dec 17th a 7:00pm PST tip off at Maples Pavilion. The Warriors are third place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic and have won three in a row.

Join Michael Roberson for the Stanford Cardinal podcast Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

SF Giants podcast report: Could Adames be best SF shortstop since Brandon Crawford?

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San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames (right) shakes hands with Giants president Buster Posey (left) at Thu Dec 12, 2024 press conference at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 No doubt about it San Francisco Giants team president Buster Posey and the Giants had their eye on trying to acquire shortstop Willy Adames from the Milwaukee Brewers. Stephen talk about Posey’s excitement in getting Adames?

#2 There is a lot of confidence that Adames will be that solid shortstop since former Giant Brandon Crawford who can lead and help get the Giants back to the post season?

#3 Adames is excited himself he posted to Instagram a message saying “Are you ready?” what sense did you get from Adames at the presser about getting started with spring training just less than two months away?

#4 Adames hit .251, with 153 hits, 32 RBIs and 112 RBIs last season. Talk about what he can do at the plate and his noted defensive skills at shortstop.

#5 Adames is looked as the future of this organization signing a seven year, $182 million contract with the Giants last Saturday. The Giants are hoping that he will turn out to lead and perform the same way Crawford did?

Stephen Ruderman is a San Francisco Giants analyst at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears WBB podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal hopes to continue undefeated home record against Stanford Friday

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Cal Bears forward Marta Suarez (7) drives on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Thu Dec 5, 2024 at Haas Pavilion. Suarez finished with 21 points against the Stockton Tigers on Sat Dec 7, 2024 at Alex Spanos Center in Stockton (Cal Bears X photo)

Cal Bears WBB podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Cal Bears (9-1) guard Ioanna Krimili and Marta Suarez led the way with 22 points and 21 points respectively as they defeated the Pacific Tigers (5-5) 74-66 last Sat Dec 7th at the Alex Spanos Center in Stockton.

#2 Cal is rolling and they pick up another road win. Cal shut down Pacific’s offense in the second quarter allowing them only seven points and coming away with a 17-7 second quarter establishing their defense to hold off the Tigers.

#3 Cal chalked up their eighth straight win with the win over the Tigers and it matches the Bears best start since the 2018-19 season when they went 9-1.

#4 The Tigers tried to keep it close edging Cal in the third quarter 19-18 and Cal won the fourth quarter 20-19 for a 74-66 win for Cal.

#5 The Cal women get after once again as they host the Stanford Cardinal at Haas Pavilion for a 7:00pm PST tip this Fri Dec 13th. The Cardinal have struggled on the road losing two road games and this will be their third road game against Cal. Cal are 5-0 at home. Morris how do you see this match up this Friday night in Berkeley?

Cal Bears podcasts with Morris Phillips can be hear Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings get by Warriors 120-117; Kings remain tied for first with Suns

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Skal Labissière forward (8) Stockton Kings gets ready to throw down against the visiting Santa Cruz Warriors at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton on Wed Dec 11, 2024 (image by Stockton Kings)

By William Espy

STOCKTON–The Stockton Kings returned home after a lengthy road trip to once again faceoff against the Santa Cruz Warriors. Nick Kerr’s Warriors won two in a row prior to their matchup at Adventist Health Arena, while the Kings lost their last outing against the Salt Lake City Stars but found themselves second in the West Division. On Wednesday night different story the Kings played a close game and defeated the visiting Warriors 120-117.

Stockton Starters: Terry Taylor, Isaiah Crawford, Skal Labissiere, Dexter Dennis, Jon Elmore

Warriors Starters: Kevin Knox, Javan Johnson, Seth Maxwell, Marcus Burk, Yuri Collins

Skal Labissiere opened the scoring for the Kings, and they maintained an early lead but the Warriors were keeping it close. Eventually, the Warriors got their first lead of the night just over halfway through the first quarter. Marcus Burk hit a corner three, making it 18-17 in favor of the visiting team.

Skal Labissiere was the Kings’ main source of offense early on, while Kevin Knox was the same for the Warriors. After the Warriors extended their lead to 20-17, Stockton went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead quickly. Drew Timme made an instant impact off of the bench, scoring six points in his first two minutes on the court. At the end of the first quarter, the Kings led 36-29.

That lead would only continue to grow in the second quarter. For the most part, the Kings maintained a double-digit lead for most of the frame. Dexter Dennis had a strong start to the quarter seemingly scoring at will. At the half, Stockton led 65-55.

Labissiere and Isaiah Crawford led the Kings with 13 points each, while Dennis had 11. Meanwhile, for Santa Cruz, Blake Hinson led his team with 13 of his own while Knox had 11. One key difference between the two teams was efficiency.

Stockton was shooting 57.1% from the field, while their opposition was held to 39.2%. Defensively, the game was a completely different story though. The Warriors had seven steals, which were a big part of the Kings’ eight first-half turnovers, they just hadn’t been able to turn them into points.

Santa Cruz started the second half with energy, going on an 8-0 run to bring the game within 2 points before Stockton was forced to call a timeout. Terry Taylor eventually broke the run, and momentum swung in the Kings’ favor who looked to extend their lead. Stockton’s lead would only be five points at the end of the third quarter, as the Warriors kept themselves in the game.

As the fourth quarter reached its halfway point, the Warriors brought the game back within a single point. Stockton kept trying to pull away, but Santa Cruz kept themselves in it. For the first time since the first quarter, the Warriors took the lead with just five minutes remaining in the game, making it 106-105.

Labissiere quickly put the Kings back in the lead, but from there it was a game of pinball as it went back and forth. With just over a minute left, the Warriors held the lead but Crawford was sent to the free-throw line with an opportunity to tie it up for Stockton.

The Warriors went down and took the lead, but as Yuri Collins went down in discomfort at the other end of the court, Crawford drew another foul. This time, he had a chance to give the Kings the lead on an and-one. He missed the free throw, but Santa Cruz knocked the ball out of bounds, giving the Kings possession once again. Taylor would end up drawing another foul, and his points were the difference maker as the Kings walked away victorious, 120-117.

Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong: Rangers lose 8 of last 10 drop game to Blackhawks; Blackwood joins Aves for Georgiev to Sharks; plus more news

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The Seattle Kraken Oliver Bjorkstrand (22) scored on the New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) in the second period at Madison Square Garden in New York on Mon Dec 8, 2024 (AP News photo)

On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica Kwong:

#1 The New York Rangers are trying to figure out what has gone wrong with their hockey club. The Rangers had best record last season but now have lost eight of their last ten games. After two games after trading defenseman Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks the Rangers lost both of those games which included a home loss to one of the worst teams in the NHL the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1.

#2 The Colorado Avalanche acquired goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks on Monday. The Aves also picked up Giovani Smith from the Sharks in exchange for goaltender Alexander Georgiev and rookie forward Nikolai Kovalenko.

#3 The Chicago Blackhawks have put goaltender Petr Mrazek on injured reserve with left groin injury on Sunday. Mrazek was replaced by goaltender Arvid Soderblom in the first period in Saturday’s game. The Blackhawks lost to the Winnipeg Jets 4-2 loss. Hawks continue to struggle just to get a win and losing Mrazek in the first period

#4 Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella had some criticism after their game after the Flyers loss to the Boston Bruins in overtime 4-3 at TD Waterhouse in Boston on Saturday. The Flyers were hit for two tripping penalties in the third period and one of the tripping penalties led to a goal against. That led Tortorella to said in the post game conference that he doesn’t teach his team to dive but maybe he should team them to dive.

#5 Washington Capitals Tom Wilson who scored two goals Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens got hit with a puck in the left cheek and came back later in the first period. The Caps rallied to beat the Canadiens for a 4-2 win on Wilson’s two goals. Wilson said it felt like his face was falling off but got looked at by the trainer and got back in the game to pick up two goals.

Jessica Kwong does Headline Sports at http://www.sportsradioservice.com every other Wednesday night

Utah HC Loses A Wild One To Minnesota In A Shootout 5-4

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Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) scores the only goal in the shootout against the Utah Hockey Club’s goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tue Dec 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–After climbing back from behind in the third period to take the lead, Utah surrendered the tying goal with 44 seconds remaining and fell to Minnesota 5-4, failing to score in the franchise’s first shootout.

The Utah Hockey Club swept their two-game road trip over the past several days, first defeating the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Saturday in a game featuring Utah’s first Gordie Howe hat trick by defenseman Michael Kesselring in his 100th NHL game and in which head coach André Tourigny recorded his 100th career coaching victory, followed by a 4-2 win over the Flyers in Philadelphia on Sunday. It was also the first time Utah has recorded back-to-back victories since winning their first three games of the season, giving them a 8-6-2 record on the road.

Utah entered Tuesday night’s matchup against the Minnesota Wild with a 4-5-2 home record and hoping to break even with a win over their division rival. Kevin Stenlund got Utah off on the right foot with his 4th goal of the season at 13:46 of the first period, assisted by Michael Carcone. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka turned away 17 shots in a very lopsided opening frame.

With a little more than five minutes remaining in the second period, Minnesota forward Marat Khusnutdinov evened things up for the Wild with an unassisted goal. Teammate Kirill Kaprizov made it 2-1 just 36 seconds later, netting his 18th goal of the season, assisted by Marcus Johansson. Kaprizov trails only Sam Reinhart of Florida and Leon Draisaitl of Edmonton by one in the NHL goal scoring race.

Early in the third period, Utah caught a break as Matt Boldy went to the penalty box for tripping against Clayton Keller. On the ensuing power play, Keller cashed it in for his 8th goal of the season to tie things up, assisted by Dylan Guenther and Mikhail Sergachev.

The momentum vanished less than a minute later when Minnesota’s Marcus Johansson scored his fourth goal of the season unassisted, silencing the crowd which had been so exuberant mere seconds earlier.

Midway through the third, Utah caught yet another break as Marco Rossi went to the sin bin for tripping against Dylan Guenther. With time running out on the power play, Clayton Keller drilled a nearly identical shot past Minnesota netminder Filip Gustavsson for his second of the night and ninth on the season, assisted again by Sergachev and Guenther, making things even at 3-3.

At 11:45 of the period, Utah defenseman Juuso Välimäki gave Utah its first lead since the opening period with just his second goal of the season, assisted by Lawson Crouse. The home team locked down its defense the rest of the way until the Wild pulled Gustavsson for an extra attacker in the closing minutes. With just 44 seconds remaining in regulation, Minnesota’s Marco Rossi from Feldkirch, Austria, stunned the Utah faithful with his 10th goal of the season to send the game to overtime.

Neither side was able to claim victory in extra frame, sending the game to Utah’s first-ever shootout where Matt Boldy was able to get past Karel Vejmelka while Filip Gustavsson shut the door on Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, and Nick Bjugstad to steal the win for the Wild and a first-place tie with the Winnipeg Jets in the Central Division. Utah drops to 4-5-3 at home with it’s fifth straight home loss.

Utah HC head coach André Tourigny addressed the media after the game. “It was a tough game. They’re a good team. For us, it’s our third game in four nights and with the long travel…we’re not as urgent as we normally are. So having that pushback late in the game, even if the guys were tired, I think that was huge. Unfortunately, we could not close the deal, that will go in the baggage and we won’t forget it. Sometimes we show our age a little bit. We’re a young team and we got emotional, especially when you’re tired. It’s bittersweet that we got a big point again against the number-one team in our division. Having said that, I would have loved to have two points, especially when you have a lead late in the game. But there are a lot of positives.”

Talking about Clayton Keller’s two power-play goals, Tourigny continued, “I thought those two were really clutch at key moments. I like the way he competes. I think his game is really taking off, and the way he competes, the way he works from the inside, both sides of the puck. He’s doing a good job.”

Utah captain Clayton Keller talked about the power play goals and the shootout loss. “I think the boys played hard tonight. It was nice to get a couple on the power play. Hopefully, build some momentum there. I thought we got better as the game went on. It was a little sloppy early. I’m proud of the guys for the way we fought back. We got the lead there, just gotta have better coverage…But we’ll learn from it and be ready to go next game. … There’s going to be games throughout the year where you’re a little sloppy with your execution; a couple mistakes here and there. But I’m proud of the way we fought. The power play stepped up, which we hadn’t recently. That’s a good step in the right direction. I think we have a lot of confidence right now. We’re heading in the right direction.”

Tuesday night marked the third straight one-game homestand for the Utah Hockey Club. Utah hits the road once again for games against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday and the San Jose Sharks on Saturday before returning to Salt Lake City for yet another one-game appearance against the Vancouver Canucks at 8:00pm MST on Wednesday, December 18.

Bears nearly come back from another large deficit, but once fall short 88-80 to Cornell in third-straight loss

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Cal Bears forward Joshua Ola Joseph takes a jump shot against the Cornell Big Red in non conference action at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Tue Dec 10, 2024 (@calmbball twitter photo)

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Cornell Big Red 88 (7-3)

California Golden Bears 80 (6-4)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears came back from down 23 points to take a late lead, but the Cornell Big Red pulled off an 88-80 win in the late minutes to hand Cal their third-straight loss.

Following their 89-81 loss to Stanford in their first all-ACC game on Saturday, the Bears ventured back out of the ACC, as they welcomed the Big Red into Haas Pavilion. Cornell came on winners of two-straight, following dominant and decisive wins over Colgate and Army.

Tuesday night’s game began as a tight one, as the Bears had an 8-7 lead just under three minutes into the game. It was then 11-11 with 12:18 remaining in the first half before Cornell opened up a 47-29 lead into the half.

It was looking to be a blowout, but the Bears showed a lot of fight in them come the second half. Cornell would open their lead to 52-29 just a minute and 46 seconds into the half. Jeremiah Wilkinson then hit a pair of threes, and the Bears would slowly start clawing themselves back into the game.

The Bears went on a 21-7 run to cut Cornell’s lead to 59-50 with 12:34 to go. Cal had fallen short after turning a 20-point deficit into just a six-point deficit against Stanford on Saturday, and they wanted to more than make up for that Tuesday night.

Mady Sissoko made a layup, and Spencer Mahoney hit a three to cut it to 61-55. Cornell kept pace with a layup by Jake Fiegen and Guy Ragland Jr., but after the Bears kept coming, and closed the deficit to 65-61 with 8:57 to go.

Cooper Noard was fouled and hit two from the line, and Ak Okereke made a layup to extend Cornell’s lead back to 69-61.The Bears pulled back within four, but Okereke was fouled and hit two from the line to keep the Big Red’s lead at 71-65 with 6:57 remaining.

Sissoko slammed one down, and Wilkinson made a layup to close it to 71-69. Andrej Stojakovic then hit a three, and the Bears had come all the way back from down 23 points to take a 72-71 lead with 5:15 remaining.

Guy Ragland Jr. hit a three to put Cornell back ahead with exactly five minutes to go, and after a minute with no scoring, Joshua Ola-Joseph hit a layup to tie it at 74-74 with 3:51 left to go. Noard made a layup to put Cornell back ahead 76-74 with nearly 3:20 left, and the score would remain stagnant for nearly another two minutes.

With 1:34 left, Jake Fiegen hit a layup to extend Cornell’s lead to 78-74, but he was fouled and made his shot from the line to make it 79-74. That seemed to kill any late hopes for the Bears to pull this one off, and Cornell won by a final of 88-80.

Ola-Joseph was the leading scorer for the Bears with 21 points, as he was 7-for-11 in field goals. Stojakovic was just 4-for-11 in field goals, but he scored 13, as did Sissoko, who was a perfect 6-for-6. Wilkinson scored 12, and Jovar Blacksher Jr. scored 11.

The Bears fall to 6-4, and they will look to bounce back against the Northwestern State Demons of the little-known Southland Conference on Saturday. Just an FYI, Northwestern State is a different university then Northwestern, though the two teams shared a very-similar shade of purple. Tipoff will be at noon on Saturday.