Bears Hold Off Cougars for Second Straight Win

Primarily because it played a spirited an effective first half Saturday Cal was able to hold off Washington State and come away from Haas Pavilion with a 76-69 victory. The Bears (7-22, 2-15 Pac-12), just two games removed from the school record 16-game losing streak, now have won two games in a row for just the second time this season. Thursday night they stunned virtually everybody by knocking off No. 25 Washngton.

“We had been playing good basketball,” said head coach Wyking Jones citing the many near-misses in recent games. “It was just a matter of time that we were going to see the reward and get the win. And then our guys would fall into a comfort zone and that’s what happened tonight. I think the guys could breathe a little easier and the confidence grew after Thursday night.

“I slept a lot better Thursday night and I know the guys did. I felt once we got one and got over the hump we could continue to pkay good basketball.”

Cal moved to a 12-point lead at the half and seemed to be in control of the visitors (11-18, 4-12). Although the Bears managed to put themselves up 60-45 midway in the second half, WSU would not go away. After shooting 56.2 per cent in the first half, the Bears lost their touch. They missed layups, dunks short jumpers, long jumpers,free throws you name it and hit a paltry 38.7 per cent in the second.

Washington State closed the margin to six, 65-59, as Cal went nearly six minutes without scoring as shot after shot misfired.

“We were sped up,” Jones said. ‘I told the guys to slow down.”

Then Connor Vanover jammed one home and Darius McNeill, who had a tough time with his long-range shot all game, stole a pass and went the length of the court for a layup. The Cougars didn’t get any closer, although they didn’t stop trying.

WSU was humiliated 98-50 at Stanford on Thursday, but had shown signs of life recently and they hung round on Saturday. “Any time you play against a team that can shoot the ball the way they can shoot the ball or score the ball with guys like (Robert) Franks or (CJ) Elleby , you never feel like any lead is safe,” Jones said. “It felt like every time they made a run or got it under ten to make it a little nervous we made a defensive play.

“So us having 13 steals and forcing 20 turnovers is what got us the win. Thirty points off of turnovers was the key tonight.”

McNeill had 17 points to lead Cal, which had four players score in double figures. What was unusual about McNeill’s line is that he was 8-for-16 from the floor, but just 1-for-6 from three-point land. Most of his points came from close range.. “I felt like I could get to the rim,” said McNeill who was a big reason Cal had 46 point in the paint. “That is part of my game, I feel I can do it. I’m more than a three-point shooter.”

Jones agreed that the 6-3 McNeill can hold his own underneath the hoop. “It’s not really something we tell him to go do,” Jones said. “It’s something he can do. To see him get into a groove, getting to the rim and finishing right hand, left hand. He made some interesting shots, to see him do that. We know we has that in his game. It is not something that he particularly uses, because for us the most important thing is that he shoots the basketball.”

Washington State had just eight players available as regulars Viont’e Daniels, Jeff Pollard and Carter Skaggs, all key players in WSU coach Ernie Kent’s rotation, were out because of concussion protocol

The Bears started with the same energy they had shown ion Thursday night. Moving the ball crisply for the most part and playing opportunistic defense they got up quickly on the short-handed Cougars.

Justice Sueing’s three-pointer with fewer than four minutes elapsed gave Cal a 9-2 lead. And after Franks hit his second field goal, this one a three-pointer, to cut it to 9-5, the Bears went on another 7-0 run for 16-5. At that point six different Bears had scored. By game’s end every Cal player who took the court had some points.

Jones said that was an example of Cal’s new-found tendency to look for open teammats.

“It shows they are growing up,” he said. “The sophomores aren’t sophomores any more. The freshmen aren’t freshmen.”

Cal stretched the lead to 11 at 29-18 with a little more than seven minutes left in the half.

Then the Bears started to get a little careless, playing in a style more suited to the Berkeley playgrounds than Haas. The Cougs took advantage and scored eight straight points to get within three.

Jones judiciously took a timeout and probably reminded the Bears of where they and how they had built a lead. Whatever he told them seemed to work as the home team closed the half with an 11-3 burst and left the court on top 41-29. The second half would have its anxious moments and the crowd 7,406 hunt around until the end

Paris Austin finished the game with 12 points, Sueing and Vanover had ten each. Jones was asked about Vanover, the 7-3 freshman who is increasingly becoming a force both offensively and defensively.

“He is just more alert, moves better,” Jones said. “From day one until now it’s just drastic, drastic improvement. And on the offensive end he can shoot, but also he’s starting to do things. And you can just see his confidence soaring at this point.”

The Bears close out the regular season at Stanford Thursday night.

Jones pointed out that the Bears lost by just three in the first meeiing. “The guys are looking forward to it,” he said.”

Vanover continues to stay hot from the perimeter