Bears Hang on to Defeat Cal Poly, 85-82

After a disastrous opening night loss to UC Riverside Friday night, the Bears (1-1) were looking to make big strides in Sunday's matchup with a very beatable Cal Poly (0-2) squad coming to Berkeley, who was coming off a loss of their own to Stanford Friday night.

After building an impressive 18-point lead early in the 2nd half, the Bears survived a scoring run of 3-point shooting from Cal Poly to hang on for an 85-82 win. Guard Don Coleman led the way for the Bears with 30 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 11-for-14 from the line to go along with five rebounds and three assists for the game.

The Bears got big games from twin towers Kingsley Okoroah and Marcus Lee after their disappointing opener, with a career high 15 points from Okoroh and 21 points and 11 rebounds from Lee.

"I think the best thing is that we're learning together and trying to figure out how we can adjust and get it done together," said Lee.

Victory wasn't easy for the Bears, however, as they had to withstand a barrage of 3's from Cal Poly, as the Mustangs hit an astounding 16-of-28 (57%) from deep to make it a tight contest in the end.

"They're just a really great shooting team. After a rough start, they really found their groove. We just need to learn how to handle it," said Lee.

"Coach told me to let the game come to me and not push it," said Coleman, who noted that he was motivated by the barrage of criticism he received on social media after Friday night's loss. "I didn't rush it and played through the system, in the game flow.

"Marcus told us to play more through him tonight and we did. We didn't get him the ball Friday."

There were several encouraging signs early in the contest. The Bears' press, which was soundly beaten throughout the loss Friday showed some early effectiveness, forcing a timeout and keeping the Mustangs from getting in an early rhythm. Power forward Marcus Lee, who was ineffective till the end of Friday's loss showed aggression and a bit of shooting range, scoring a quick seven points on a jumper, baby hook and a jam in traffic with the and one in the early minutes. Freshman wing Justice Sueing (12 points, four rebounds, four assists), earning his first start, was aggressive going to the hole, scoring a quick trio of buckets. And an interior defense that was suprisingly soft and vulnerable in the opener had a pair of early blocks, including a decisive stuff by frosh point guard Darius McNeill, that ignited a break. The Bear also managed a steal and fast break bucket on the press, as well.

The half ended 44-30, with the Mustangs' solid 6-for-14 shooting from 3-point range one of the few things keeping Cal Poly in the game.

Coleman led the Bears Friday night with 32 points an otherwise miserable stat line of 31% shooting and three turnovers with one assist. However Coleman was a different player in the first half, with an efficient line of 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting with two assists and two rebounds.

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Power Forward Marcus Lee with the baby hook over Cal Poly

The Bears continued their aggressive play, extending the lead to 19 at 49-30 two minutes into the half on a pair of Lee free throws. However, a steady barage of threes by the Mustangs got Cal Poly back in the game, with a run of 5 straight treys. Guard Marcellus Garrick hit straight threes in the run.

Another trey by forward Luke Meikle cut the Bears' lead to five with 8:30 remaining before Coleman stemmed the tide with a driving layup and a pair of free throw to pad the Bears lead to nine.

Another 6-0 Mustang run whittled the Cal lead down to five again with 4:30 remaining. A Lee free throw and a critical shot clock violation caused by tight Bear defense fllowed by a Coleman three from the top of the key gave the Bears some breathing room again.

The Mustangs wouldn't go away, paring the Cal lead down to five again on a bucket by Mark Crowe followed by a pair of Garrick free throws but a thunderous follow jam by Lee broke the quick run.

Torrid 3-point shooting continued to make this a tighter contest than it should be, with back-to-back treys from Crowe and Fields again cutting the Cal lead to five, 84-79 with under 10 seconds remaining. A final three from forward Jacub Niziol cut the lead to three but time ran out on the Mustang's run, as the Bears hung on for the 85-82 win.

"Happy with the win," said head coach Wyking Jones. "Really happy with the way we played in first half, getting it inside and good penetration from the guards, shooting 70%.

"I had some unofficial meetings with the guards, letting them know they needed to get them (Okoroh and Lee the ball, said of the Bears' big jump in interior scoring productivity.

As for Cal Poly's excellent perimeter scoring:

"They hit tough shots, even after we made adjustments," said Jones. "What can you do about it?

"They outscored us by 11 in the 2nd half. Luckily we were able to score and ended up winning."

Of Coleman's dramatic turnaround from game one to two:

"Unbelievable," said Jones. "He played with a better pace and he was very good for us. His teammates see it and we see it.

"He's very good in transition. I said in transition, be aggressive, be you. In half court sets, that's where you need to be selective."

"He took it well and I'm happy he had this kind of game because it was a good lesson for him."