Bears Fall in Fresno
FRESNO, Calif. -- Paris Austin and Justice Sueing's 20 points apiece were not enough to help California men's basketball past Fresno State, and the Golden Bears fell to the Bulldogs 95-73 Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center in Fresno.
Austin and Sueing were among the three Bears who scored in double figures, with Andre Kelly adding 11 points after going 5-6 from the field.
Noah Blackwell had 13 points and career-highs of nine assists and seven rebounds and Fresno State won its sixth straight.
New Williams scored a career-high 19 points for the Bulldogs. Braxton Huggins shook off a sluggish shooting night to score 18 while Nate Grimes added 17 points with five rebounds.
"At the end of the first half is when we stopped sharing the ball and that's where they made their run," Bears coach Wyking Jones said. "It is concerning because that's how we played at the beginning of the season. I would think that we would have learned at this point that we have to move the ball to be good."
It's the first time the two teams have played since Cal defeated Fresno State 65-57 on Nov. 30, 2014.
The difference this time was striking.
Playing for the first time in nearly two weeks, Fresno State (8-2) pulled away midway through the first half and led by as much as 25 while beating a Pac-12 team for the first time since 2016.
Cal played without 7-foot-3 center Connor Vanover, who is in concussion protocol after suffering a broken nose while going for a loose ball against Cal Poly on Saturday. Vanover had started each of the previous two games.
GET TO THE LINE
Fresno State repeatedly drove deep into the paint and were able to get to the foul line as a result. The Bulldogs held a 38-18 advantage in free throw attempts and made 29 of them.
AUSTIN PROVIDES SPARK
Austin had a quiet first half but gave Cal a much-needed lift in the second half. He scored 14 points after the break, including nine straight during one stretch. Austin also did a good job mixing it up and finding the open man when Fresno State's defense collapsed.
UP NEXT
California: The Bears return to Haas Pavilion to host San Jose State on Friday.