BERKELEY - Coming off their season-opening 27-point win over CSU Bakersfield, the Bears were tested thoughout the game by a scrappier and more athletic, though height-challenged Wright State team, holding off the Rowdy Raiders for a 77-67 victory.
Portal tranfer guard Dai Dai Ames put the team on his back, pouring in 23 points on an efficient 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3 along with 4-for-4 from the line, also adding 3 rebounds and 2 assists with just 1 turnover in leading all scorers on the night.
“Playing with one of the best point guards in the country, it's easy for me to get buckets, so him being by my side makes it real easy,” Ames said after the game with a nod to teammated Justin Pippen.
Pippen struggled from the floor, hitting just 3-of-12 from the floor and 0-for-4 from 3 but contributed in other ways, going 8-for-8 from the line as well as hauling in 9 rebounds and playing tough defense in the win.
Forward John Camden had a solid game, contributing 12 points and 9 rebounds in the win and Syracuse transfer pitched in 12 and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
Neither team shot well from the field, though the Bears stepped it up in the 2nd half, finishing 23-for-55 (42%) but just 24% from the arc. The Bears held Wright State to 38% in the win and outrebounded the smaller Rowdy Raiders, 43-35. The Bears struggled in the transition game, getting outpointed to the tune of 14-3 off of turnovers, though the Bears only turned over the ball 10 times in the win. Wright State was led by impressive freshman Michael Cooper, who tallied 17 points on 7-of-13 from the floor along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Bears started slowly, scoring just 3 points in the first five minutes of the game and didn’t take the lead till a Camden 3-pointer but the Bears up 11-8 with 12:25 left in the half. After a Cooper layup, the Bears scored the next 5 on a Nolan Dorsey layup followed by an Ames layup and-1 to go up 16-10 at the 10:40 mark. The Rowdy Raiders fought back to within 1 on a Holden jumper with 4:10 left in the half but an Ames jumper and four straight free throws by Camden helped the Bears to a 34-28 lead at the break.
The Bears seemed to find their rhythm in the second half, building a 16-point lead with 8:53 remaining on an Ames jumper and 3 but allowed Wright State to claw their way back in the game as they consistently struggled to finish and the hold and got a little sloppy on perimeter and transition defense as the Rowdy Raiders pared the Cal lead down to just 4 with 2:44 remaining, 69-65. An Ames 3 and four late free throws from Pippen extended the lead to the final winning margin of 10 as the Bears moved to 2-0 on the season.
“Wright State is a good basketball team,” head coach Mark Madsen said after the game. “We had a decent lead there kind of late in the second half, and they they fought, they scrapped, they got us out of rhythm, they changed their defense. They got us back on our heels a little bit. I was proud of our guys for finishing the game and finishing it with a win. We did a great job of making free throws late.”
The Bears will be in action next on Monday night against 1-0 Cal State Fullerton at 7 pm in Haas Pavilion.
