The Bears end their two-game road trip in Los Angeles after notching their first Pac-12 win against the UCLA Bruins.
Cal ended a three-game losing skid and found its way back into the win column after getting the best of UCLA, 66-57.
The win secured Cal’s first conference win of the season and its first win at Pauley Pavilion since 2010 — snapping a 16-game losing streak at the Bruins’ home court.
In what was a tightly contested game from the tipoff, the Bears never trailed as they fought off a season-long trend of second-half troubles.
“With this team, we’ve been through adversity. We haven’t won close games, but we’re learning each and every game, and I feel like this game was a good game for us to get over that hump and help us build momentum” said Cal guard Jaylon Tyson.
Tyson led the way for Cal with 22 points on 9-12 shooting, 2-3 from three. Seventeen of his 22 points camewhen Cal needed an offensive spark most — in the second half and in crunch time. His late-game heroics compensated for Cal’s bleeding on the defensive end and kept UCLA out of reach.
The junior transfer’s influence on this Cal team cannot be understated. He has now notched 10 games this season scoring 20 or more points. Following Cal’s trip to Los Angeles Tyson has now scored 20-plus in four straight games, making him the first Bear to achieve such a performance since Allen Crabbe in 2012.
“I work on those shots. Every day I'm in the gym 24/7. That goes back to the confidence (the coaching staff) has in me,” Tyson said. “Every time when it comes down to the last 10 minutes, they tell me ‘You’re the guy. You’re the best player on the court.’ So with me, I go out there and act like I’m the best player on the court. That’s just props to the coaching staff and the work that I put in.”
The Bears demonstrated significant defensive strides, making quick rotations and locking down the Bruins’ scorers, especially in the first half where they held the Bruins to only 23 points. In the second half, UCLA managed to claw back by forcing turnovers — an offensive issue that has plagued Cal throughout this season — but the Bears’ defense still made crucial stops late in the game.
Ball security remains an issue for Cal, as it finished against UCLA with a negative assist-to-turnover ratio. The Bruins’ five blocks and eight steals paid dividends and led to 10 fastbreak points.
Tyson was not the only Bear to dominate the Bruins as Fardaws Aimaq notched his 10th double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds. The big man leads the Pac-12 in rebounds, averaging 10.7 per night, and is the only player in the conference averaging double-digits off the glass.
However, the spark for the Bears came from the efforts of Rodney Brown Jr. The freshman is seeing more minutes as the season progresses, and he is increasingly assertive with the ball in his hands.
“Rodney is a guy whose work ethic transcends most freshmen in the country. He’s put on close to 20 pounds of muscle since he's been at Cal,” said head coach Mark Madsen. “He’s worked in the weight room, he's always in the gym. He's a guy who's just not afraid to take a big three and he's shooting it at an incredibly high percentage. He has great length. He can play the point guard. He makes his teammates better. The sky's the limit for Rodney, and he’s just a great person.”
The Bears are now 5-10 on the season and headed back to Haas Pavilion for a matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes.
Contact Eric Hayrapetian at Eric.hayrapetian@gmail.com
Comments