Cal Comes Up Just Short In 99-96 Barnburner At Kansas State

MANHATTAN, KANSAS -- The California men's basketball team carved down a 25-point deficit with help from a hot 3-point outing in the second half but came up just short of host Kansas State in a 99-96 loss to the Wildcats in Manhattan, Kansas. Chris Bell drained seven of Cal's 15 threes on the night, and Dai Dai Ames added five in a wild one to mark the Golden Bears' first road test of the season. Cal is now 3-1 overall, and K-State improves to 3-0.

K-State was highly effective on the offensive end out of the gates, going 5-of-5 from 3-point range in the first 10 minutes and wrapping the half shooting 68 percent overall to lead things 55-34 at halftime. Cal was shooting 43 percent from the floor in those first 20 minutes, unable to match the scoring production of its host to that point. The Wildcats also led on the boards 17-10 and had three players in double figures at the break. The Bears put in work in the second half, heating up to 67.6 percent in those 20 minutes while hitting 12 of 19 threes, but Cal still came up just short of the Wildcats. K-State finished out the three-point win shooting 64.4 percent overall with nine 3-pointers landed. Cal finished up at 56.5 percent overall with 15 threes hit and outrebounding its host 26-25. Both teams also had 17 assists apiece, while K-State was 14-of-21 from the free-throw line and Cal was 11-of-14 from the stripe. 

Chris Bell led all scorers with 27 points for the Bears and was joined in double digits once again by Dai Dai Ames (25 points) along with Justin Pippen (14) and Lee Dort (10). K-State was paced by PJ Haggerty's 23 points along with 21 from Khamari McGriff, 20 from Nate Johnson and 16 from David Castillo.

Chris Bell opened Cal's account with a baseline 3-pointer before the Bears got tagged with three fouls in the first minute of action. Cal would manufacture a 6-0 rally on scores from Lee Dort, Bell and Dai Dai Ames as the Bears tightened up their defense and led it 9-5 at 15:55, but the Wildcats bit back. K-State strung together a 13-point rally that featured three 3-pointers landed to go up 18-9 before Ames broke the run with a score in the paint at 13:05. The Wildcats would stay perfect from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes of play, hitting 5-of-5 to get ahead 28-16. The hosts stayed hot and got going down low as well, building a 37-20 advantage at 8:13. K-State was shooting a steamy 76 percent from the floor while crafting a 47-22 lead entering the final six minutes of the first half. Cal finally got a run going after a strike from Milos Ilic in the paint. Pippen put away a dunk off an Ames steal next, and Bell knocked one down to carve the deficit to 53-34 entering the final minute of the half. 

Ames tallied Cal's first eight points of the second half to become the first Bear in double digits and get the score to 57-42, only to see the Wildcats fire off a 9-0 answering run to go up 66-41 at 15:45. Carr dished out assists on a Dort dunk and an Ames three around a Wildcat strike to bring it to 70-52, although the teams would continue to trade buckets for the next stretch. Ames buried back-to-back threes to break the cycle and claw the Bears closer, and Dorsey converted down low to make it a 77-64 margin with 9:10 on the clock. Pippen pumped in his first 3-pointer of the night to cross into double-figure territory for the fourth straight game, and he'd keep striking to help keep the margin at 15. Later, Bell kept the 3-point party alive with four more long ones to net a 95-85 score with 2:20 go. Ames and Camden kept the pressure on the Wildcats with gutsy finishes to make it a single-digit deficit with 1:15 remaining, down 98-89. Bell wasn't done. He drained his seventh three to make it 98-92 with 37 seconds on the clock. Some tough work from Carr cut it to 99-94 with six ticks to go, and he'd strike again in the final second to get it to a three-point game but with not enough time left for the Bears to force OT.

NEXT: Cal returns to Berkeley for two games at Haas Pavilion next week. The Bears host Presbyterian on Tuesday (Nov. 18) at 7 p.m. and then will take on Sacramento State next Friday (Nov. 21). 

NOTABLE:
- TT Carr scored his first points as a Bear tonight when he went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line in the first half and finished with six total points.
- Carr also set his career high with six rebounds and five assists. 
- Nolan Dorsey hit his first 3-pointer as a Bear tonight with his strike in the first half.
- Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut recorded a career-high three blocks.
- Chris Bell made a season-high seven 3-pointers -- one short of his career high.