Shooting woes bite Bears at Washington
Cal’s road basketball success was fleeting.
After winning their first road game of the season at Washington State to start the weekend, the Bears were left in the dust in Seattle on Saturday against Washington. The Huskies rolled to a 87-52 win, ending their ninegame losing streak.
The Huskies (13-15, 3-12 Pac-12) held the Golden Bears (11-16, 5-9) without a field goal for more than 15 minutes during a stretch spanning halftime to take the victory. Washington forced 17 turnovers, and held Cal to 11 field goals and 24 percent shooting in a game that showed the team’s athletic promise.
The Bears appeared to be pulling away when D.J. Thorpe slammed home a dunk for a 17-11 lead, Cal’s biggest of the game, with 11:33 left in the first half.
From there, things would turn disastrous for the Bears. Washington held Cal without a field goal the rest of the half, outscoring the Bears 32-9 for a 43-26 lead. Cal finished the half by missing 14 of 15 field goals, including 12 straight, and had 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, including five in a span of 4:14 that helped start Washington’s run.
The Huskies started the season with a win over No. 1 Baylor and were ranked at one point. But after losing 11 of their last 12 they were stuck in a repetitive cycle of second-half fades and long scoring droughts.
Nahziah Carter scored 16 points, and Isaiah Stewart had 15 to lead Washington.
The Bears were led by Matt Bradley’s 14 points.
Several Huskies contributed to the dominant finish to the half. Mcdaniels had eight points over the final 10 minutes. Wright hit 3-of-4 3-point attempts during the stretch, and Stewart scored on a grind-it-out play in the paint and Carter dunked home a putback of a Carter miss to give Washington the lead for good, 21-20 with 6 minutes to play.
Marcus Tsohonis hit three straight 3s to start the second half, a one-twothree punch that took the fight out of Cal. The Bears finally ended the long field goal drought when Grant Anticevich hit a short jumper to make it 54-28 with 16:20 left. In all, they went 15:23 between field goals.
SAINT MARY’S ROUTS SAN DIEGO >> Malik Fitts scored 27 points, Jordan Ford scored 22, and Saint Mary’s (23-6, 10-4 West Coast Conference) rolled to a 9263 home win over San Diego in Moraga.
Braun Hartfield’s jump shot with 4:14 before halftime put San Diego up 30-25 before the Gaels went on a 13-4 run to close the half. After the break, Saint Mary’s went on a 13-2 run for a 14-point lead with 12:50 remaining and led 58-44. Saint Mary’s finished 39-of70 shooting (55.7%).
Hartfield led San Diego (9-20, 2-12) with 15 points.
USF TOPS PEPPERDINE >> Jimbo Lull scored a go-ahead jumper in overtime, and USF edged beat Pepperdine 63-61 at War Memorial Gym.
Charles Minlend grabbed 12 rebounds and scored 19 points, including two free throws that tied it at 58 at the end of regulation for USF (18-11, 7-7 West Coast Conference).
Colbey Ross scored 20 points with seven assists for Pepperdine (15-14, 8-7). KNIGHT HAS BIG GAME IN SAN JOSE STATE’S LOSS >> Seneca Knight scored a career-high 37 points for San Jose State (7-21, 3-13 Mountain West), but the Spartan’s losing streak stretched to seven games with a 78-71 road loss at Colorado State.
Adam Thistlewood scored 16 points to lead Colorado State (19-10, 10-6).