#20 Clemson Claims 77-55 Win Over Cal

BERKELEY -- The California men's basketball team went cold for a lengthy stretch of the first half and was unable to make up that ground, finishing with a 77-55 loss to No. 20 Clemson today at Haas Pavilion. Cal is now 17-7 overall and 5-6 in ACC play, while Clemson improves to 20-4, 10-1.

Cal came up empty from the floor for almost 13 minutes as the Bears' early lead disappeared while Clemson climbed ahead 39-20 by halftime. Cal shot 24 percent overall in those first 20 minutes -- far behind the Tigers' 59.1 percent clip to go along with six Clemson 3-pointers drained. Cal improved in the second half, but Clemson stayed efficient and kept the Bears at bay to net the win. Cal finished the game shooting 39.6 percent overall, and Clemson wrapped a 55.1 percent with a rebounding advantage of 29-27.

The Bears were led by Justin Pippen's game-high 19 points along with 13 from Chris Bell and 12 from Dai Dai Ames. Clemson received 13 points from Ace Buckner and RJ Godfrey and 11 each from Jake Wahlin and Carter Welling.

Cal landed three 3-pointers in the first five minutes to get out ahead 13-9. A string of turnovers by the Bears helped to fuel a 12-0 Tiger rally that had Clemson ahead 21-13 with 8:20 on the clock. Cal's dry spell stretched on, with only a single free throw falling for almost 13 minutes as Clemson's advantage grew to 31-14. Dai Dai Ames broke the silence with a jumper that made it 31-16 with 2:40, but the Tigers kept clicking and landed one last 3-pointer before the break to take a 39-20 lead into the locker room.

Cal's offense checked back in for the second half, and Pippen and Bell both got into double figures in helping the Bears keep pace with Clemson. A Pippen feed to Bell at 9:20 sparked a 6-0 Cal push with buckets from Mantas Kocanas and Dai Dai Ames coming next to get the score to 56-41 with 7:55 to go. The Bears just could not carve in any closer in the next stretch, and Clemson held its largest lead of the game at 70-46 with 4:30 remaining. Cal's John Camden tallied his first points of the game in the final two minutes, and Clemson would stay the course to pocket a final 77-55 win.

NEXT: The Bears head back East next week, with a trip to Syracuse first for a game against the Orange at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday (Feb. 11). From there, Cal goes to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to face Boston College at noon ET next Saturday (Feb. 14).

NOTABLE:

- With 19 points, Justin Pippen scored in double figures for the 20th time this season.

- With 13 points, Chris Bell hit double digits for the 18th time this season.

- With 12 points, Dai Dai Ames scored in double figures for a team-best 21st time this season.

- With four points and four rebounds, Mantas Kocanas tied his season highs. 

- Cal's 20 points in the first half was a season low.

- Cal's 55 points in the game also was a season low.