A Cal comeback falls short as UCLA holds the Bears to just 60 points, tying a season-low.
Key Takeaways
Killer turnovers
Coming off a thrilling overtime win over the Trojans, Cal hosted UCLA at Haas Pavilion for the last time as a member of the Pac-12. Cal was simply outmatched from the tip, falling behind to as much as 14 points in the first half. Nothing was going in favor of the Bears. A second half saw Cal surge offensively and tighten defensively, but it came up short as the Bruins made winning plays when it mattered most.
Cal’s first-half disaster can be attributed to the Bruins’ full-court pressure, which forced many of Cal’s eight turnovers — an aspect that the Bears haven’t been able to overcome this season.
The lack of ball security led to 13 UCLA points in transition. When the ball wasn’t being coughed up, the Bears were operating in a stagnant offense, working hard to rarely find open looks.
Bears fall just short
After applying pressure to make a comeback, opportunities started to present themselves, and shots started to fall. Keonte Kennedy, Cal’s spark plug, was slicing his way through the defense and getting to the rim for easy layups. Fardaws Aimaq struggled to find the bottom of the net but notched 12 rebounds to secure his 16th double-double of the season.
Cal drops to 10-14 overall and 6-7 in conference play, as the Bruins extend its winning streak to now five games.
Cal’s game MVP
Jaylon Tyson: This Cal team revolves around the future NBA draft pick, and continues to go as far as he takes them. Tyson — the second-leading scorer in the Pac-12 — led the Bears with 16 points on an efficient 6-12 shooting and brought down six rebounds.
Cal’s run late in the second half was generated through Tyson’s play. Whether it was by finding the open man, directing traffic or getting his own shot, Tyson was putting the Bruins on their heels. Unfortunately for the transfer guard and the Bears, the momentum generated was not enough to squeeze out a win.
Eye-opening stats
Entering Saturday’s contest, the Bears were 6-1 when they held the opposition to fewer than 70 points. The Bruins, known for their defensive tenacity and slowing games down, came into Haas and still managed to find a win with only 61 points. The red-hot Bears’ 60 points tied the fewest they have scored all season.
Cal also got out-rebounded (36-40) and forced a combined six less steals and rebounds than the Bruins.
The Bears completely flipped the script in the second half and looked like a rejuvenated team. In the first half, Cal shot 36.4% from the field and 25% from three — but the latter 20 minutes were a completely different ball game, as the Bears saw a five percent increase on the floor and an impressive 10 percent increase from three.
If it wasn’t for three empty possessions late in the game, the outcome may have been completely different.
Looking ahead
After a five-day break, Cal will begin to round out its Pac-12 play with a trip to Washington for games against the Cougars and Huskies. The last time the Bears faced the two teams, both contests ended in dramatic fashion, and Cal split the series.
Washington State, the first of the two (18-6 overall, 9-4 in Pac-12), has been near-perfect at home with an 11-1 record. The Cougars currently hold the number two spot in the conference, and have yet to suffer a loss since their meeting with Cal in January.
For any hope of a tournament appearance, these next two games will be do-or-die.
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