Bears Run Past Roadrunners, 83-63

HAAS PAVILION - Completing the second half of an afternoon/evening doubleheader at Haas, the Bears got back on track for a solid 83-63 victory over Cal State Bakersfield (1-2) in Berkeley. The 2-1 Bears were trying to shake off a disappointing loss to Pacific Friday -the first time the Bears lost to the Tigers in three-quarters of a century and tonight’s win did the trick.

Madsen noted that the team is a work in progress and that tonight is more like what they’ve envisioned for this season as they continue to grow together as a unit.

“It’s a new team, a new coach and a new staff,” Madsen said after the game. “On top of that, a guy like Jaylon Tyson has been with the team but he hasn’t really been able to participate in scrimmages against other teams (or in last Monday’s season opener). He wasn’t allowed to. So really, these last two games were the first times that he was able to have that opportunity with his teammates under the lights at 7 pm.”

Cal jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on 3-pointers from point guard Devin Askew and combo guard Jalen Cone and stayed hot from the perimeter throughout the half, particularly Cone, who hit 5-of-10 from the arc and had 17 points by the break. Overall the Bears were 11-for-21 at the break from three-point land, something they were expecting to be able to do more frequently with several 40% three-point shooters in the rotation.

Askew also had a strong half, going for 10 first-half points, including a pair of 3’s and a driving layup in traffic.

The Bears closed the half with a 13-5 run to take a 49-34 lead into the locker room after a buzzer-beating 3 from Cone to close out the half.

After struggling with cramps several points in Friday night’s loss, wing Jaylon Tyson looked healthy in tonight’s win, including throwing down a modified windmill dunk to put the Bears up 16 midway through the second half. They pushed it to 18 on the next possession on a Tyson outlet pass and jam by center Fardaws Aimaq. Aimaq finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds going 4-for-6 from the field and 5-for-7 from the line in an efficient game before fouling out with 5:57 remaining.

Though Tyson struggled from the field tonight, going just 4-for-15, he was still able to positively impact the game with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists in a double-double effort. Tyson also had one block and one steal and played disruptive defense all game.

When Cone popped for another 3 with 1:50 remaining, the Bears extended their lead to 21. It was Cone’s 7^th trey of the night -the most in his career- leading the Bears from the arc.

“it’s fun when you’re hot and playing beside great players like Devin Askew at point guard,” Cone said after the game. It make the game a lot easier.”

“It felt great to get back on track,” Askew said, who was wearing protective shades after injuring his eye and suffering light sensitivity. “Started out (the season) a little slow but the trust of the coach and my teammates and the belief they have in me, I just went out and played hard today.”

As welcome as the 20-point win was, the Bears still will to look to improve their overall shooting after going just 27-67 (40%) from the floor tonight, including a sigificant number of 1-2 footers that wouldn’t go down. They also struggled with fouls thoughout the night, putting the Roadrunners on the line for 33 attempts compared to their 20 on the night. The Bears did clamp down from the perimeter, only surrendering three 3 pointers on the night - a massive improvement from the first two games. They also only turned the ball over 8 times tonight while forcing 11 turno

The Roadrunners were led by point guard Kaleb Higgins with 22 points on the night.