Bradley Injured Again in Loss at OSU
The Cal men lost a 12-point lead and eventually the basketball game to Oregon State on Saturday afternoon. But the 73-64 defeat was not the worst news to come out of Corvallis.
Junior Matt Bradley, the Bears’ top scorer and spiritual leader, sustained an ankle injury in the first half and could be sidelined for a while. With little more than three and half minutes left in the first half, Bradley jumped to throw a pass, and when he came down his left ankle twisted as he landed on the foot of the Beavers’ Rodrigue Andela. He immediately fell and grabbed at the ankle, clearly in pain.
He hobbled off the floor with assistance and was soon in a walking boot. Bradley had just returned to the lineup Thursday after missing the previous two games with another ankle injury. Head coach Mark Fox does not expect Bradley to get back so quickly this time.
“It is not a re-injury of his previous injury. I am not sure that’s a good thing, because even the other one wasn’t back to 100 percent anyway,” Fox said. “It is pretty significant I believe, I don’t think we’ll have Matt for some time.”
That is not what the Bears (5-6, 0-4 Pac-12) need right now. Not with second-leading scorer Grant Antecivh also out for an extended time after an appendectomy. That is a combined 28.1 points per game Cal has to find somewhere else.
“The challenge for us now is learning to play without him and Grant both, our two leading scorers,” Fox said. “When they are not on the floor, you’;re stretch four who played 30 minutes a game is not there and your leading scorer is not there., You have to reinvent the lineups, the things you are trying to run to manufacture shots. You don’t have as much shooting at the four spot., It is almost a reinvention. ...It’s harder to space the floor.”
That said, the Bears certainly had their chances this afternoon. The Bears came into the game hitting 68.6 percent from the foul line. This time they missed half of their 28 tries. Those are 14 points that banged off the backboard or clanged off the rim.
It was pretty much a team-wide problem. The biggest offender was Lars Thiemann, who must play more minutes and assume more assignments in Anticevich’s absence. He got to the line 11 times and made just three. Many of those were in the final minutes as Cal was trying to cut into OSU’s lead.
“It’s a pretty simple formula,” Fox said. “It’s something you’ve done since you started playing the game. You just have to have a routine you are confident in and you have to be able to go to the line and make a free throw. It’s as simple as that. There is no defense, it’s about having the ability and skill and confidence to do it time and time again. And today we did not shoot it well.”
Playing one of their best halves of the year, the Bears had their way with Oregon State on both ends of the floor in the first 20 minutes, and it wasn’t just Bradley.
The Bears were scorching from the floor. Using a free-flowing offense that game them consistent good looks at the rim, Cal shot 65 percent from the floor (13-for-20).
On defense, with Bears took advantage of some foul trouble in the Beavers’ already thin front line, and stymied the OSU shooters. The good looks the Bears allowed were few.
They led 29-21 when Bradley left. They were tough for a bit, getting the margin up to ten in the first half and with 18:21 left in the second half, Joel Brown’s driving layup put Cal up, 40-28.
But that they couldn’t hold on, as OSU’s press started to take its toll as Cal could not maintain offensive consistency. The Bears had to work so hard and take so long to get the ball across the timeline they didn’t have enough time to get anything started. Shot clock violations or desperation heaves at the last seconds were common,
The Oregon State offense got into gear in the final period. The three main culprits were Ethan Thompson, Maurice Calloo and Jarod Lucas. Thompson would either defy a Cal double team or run a pick-and-roll with Calloo. Finding himself open on the perimeter, the 6-10 Calloo nailed three 3-pointers. And when the Bears had those two contained, reserve guard Jarod Lucas would knock down a three.
The Bears weathered a 7-0 Oregon State run, and actually had a 7-point lead with ten minutes left. But the Beavers kept coming and finally caught the Bears with 6:31 to go, 56-56 on a Calloo 3-pointer. That was the start of a run that resulted in a 5-point OSU lead.
The Bears gamely fought back and actually forged a tie again inside four minutes. But missed free throws proved costly as OSU re-established its advantage and pulled away. This where the Bears missed Bradley the most. The final margin was the Beavers’ largest lead.
“I don't want to take anything away from Oregon State, but we really had a difficult time without Matt. Even though we played without him a week ago, it's a little harder against Pac-12 competition. That being said, if we make our free throws, we win the game. So disappointed in our performance at the free-throw line, and obviously in the second half we didn't play nearly as well as we need to play to win on the road."
One positive note was Jarred Hyder had his best game since gaining eligibility, scoring 12 points and hitting two 3-pointers
Because of COVID-19 issues, Oregon state was without 7-1 center Roman Silva and all three assistant coaches.
Cal’s next game is at home Thursday night against Washington State.
Related:
A Look at the Basketball Program as it Re-enters Pac-12 Play
