Bears just hold off surging Rebels

SAN JOSE, CALIF.— Allen Crabbe had 19 points and nine rebounds, reserve Robert Thurman scored all 12 of his points on dunks and 12th-seeded California held off fifth-seeded UNLV 64-61 in the second round of the NCAA tournament Thursday.

Buoyed by the crowd support of a strong contingent so close to Berkeley, the Golden Bears (21-11) held the Runnin’ Rebels (25-10) without a basket for more than 11 minutes in the second half. Cal turned a tie game into a nine-point lead during that stretch and withstood a late UNLV push for its first tournament win since 2009.

The Rebels rallied to within a point in the final seconds before missed free throws and a costly inbounds pass sealed the loss.

Bryce Dejean-Jones scored 15 points and Brampton’s Anthony Bennett shook off a poor start to finish with 15 points and 11 rebounds for UNLV, which beat Cal 76-75 in Berkeley on Dec. 9. Montreal’s Khem Birch added five points for UNLV.

Despite being the higher seed, the selection committee placed the Rebels just 50 miles from Cal’s campus — and in the heart of its alumni base in technology-rich Silicon Valley.

Rebels fans filled up about two sections, and the rest of the redand-black faithful was sprinkled around the blue-and-gold-clad crowd. Cal’s contingent let its presence be known, roaring to its feet at every chance. The Rebels then missed16 shots in a row from the field until Mike Moser — who was hurt early in the first matchup — put back a rebound with 5:16 remaining. The tip ended a drought of 11:14 without a basket, and perhaps even more stunning was that Cal only led 52-46. Robert Thurman finished all of his baskets for dunks and bullied Bennett — a projected lottery pick in the NBA draft — on both ends. Bennett and the rest of the Rebels started to find their rhythm late — too late. Bennett’s layup sliced Cal’s lead to 56-52 with 2:50 to play.