Hoping for an update on Tyson's injury.
Photo by X / Cal Basketball
Cal Basketball
Bears Struggle in Disappointing 87-79 Loss to Pacific
HAAS PAVILION - If Monday night kicked off the Mark Madsen Era with the Bears winning their opener, tonight could be rightfully called the Jaylon Tyson Era, as the newly-activated wing elevated the Bears throughout the game with stellar overall play in every facet of the game but his stellar 20 point, 11 rebound effort was for naught in the Bears disappointing 87-79 loss to Pacific.
The Bears began the day much as they did in their opener, allowing a scorching 7-for-14 from the perimeter and 52% overall while going only 2-10 from three and 41% from the floor themselves, trailing 40-38 at the break. The Bears struggled to defend center Burke Smith, who had 10 points at the break, shooting 2-3 from 3 and wing Judson Martindale who had 11 and was also 2-for-3 at the break. For the game, the Tigers were led by Oklahoma State transfer guard Donovan Williams, who scorched the nets for 23 points on 7-for-10 shooting and 3-for-6 from deep.
“We played well enough to take a (10 point) lead in the second half then Pacific came back,” Cal head coach Mark Madsen said after the game. “They outplayed us in the second half. Pacific made their shots when they needed them and they executed well down the stretch and we did not do a good job on defense. We’ll study the film, learn from it and bounce back Monday, ready to go Monday.”
After an opener where he was ineffective till getting hot late in the game, PG Jalen Cone lit it up in the first half, leading the Bears with 12 points at the break, though he missed his share of off-balance perimeter jumpers. Center Fardaws Aimaq was also effective on offense, racking up 10 points in the first 15 minutes. Tyson also spurred the Bears on both ends of the floor, going for 8 points and 9 boards at the break. Cone led the Bears with 22 points from the field for the game but was inefficient, going just 5-for-16 overall. Aimaq finished with 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting but only pulled down 3 boards on the night as he was routinely pulled out to the perimeter on defense by his man for the second straight game.
The Bears took a 46-42 lead three minutes into the second half, spurred by a Tyson steal and layup followed by a smooth Tyson trey from the top of the key. They extended their lead to 7 when Cone followed up with another 3 from deep to cap an 11-0 run after the Tigers started the half with a bucket.
After the Bears stretched their lead to 10, Pacific came back with a 12-2 run of their own to pull to within 2 at 56-54 with 11:38 remaining in the contest, keyed by a pair of 3’s.
The Bears saw their season flash before their eyes after a Tyson driving bucket in traffic put the Bears up 62-58 with 9:18 left but the junior transfer went down hard and slowly left the court with assistance and the Tigers started a run.
“I thought he gave us a huge boost emotionally with his play,” Madsen said of Tyson. “I thought Jaylon was really good.” Madsen noted that Tyson’s physical issues were related to cramping.
“It felt good to be out there, playing along side players like (Jalen) Cone and everybody else,” Tyson said after the game. “It was honestly a blessing. Coach Madsen is the best coach I’ve ever had.”
Two minutes later, much to the relief of the Haas Pavilion crowd, Tyson was back on the court but Tyson or not, the Bears could not stem the tide as the Tigers put 15 straight points on the board with a combination of more perimeter sharpshooting and sloppy turnovers on the offensive end by the Bears. A pair of Cone free throws finally broke the run but the Tigers came right back with another 3 to stretch their lead to 76-64 with 3 minutes left in the game.
From there, the Bears were never able to get it closer than 7 as they went on to the loss. The Tigers shot 13-of-26 from the arc for the game and went 16-for-19 from the line compared to the Bears 6-for-23 from the perimeter and just 16-for-26 from the line, telling the tale of the game.
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