Despite basketball being a team game, you need individual plays. Cal got that from two sources tonight.

Grant Anticevich kept Cal alive on a jumpshot with 7 seconds left in the first overtime, then hit a 3 in the second overtime to put the Bears ahead for good. Then Andre Kelly, who had kept the Bears afloat all night, hit a late in the shot clock three to give the Bears a game clinching lead.

Kelly finished with 29 points and 15 rebounds, both career highs in a 75-68 double overtime win over Southern Utah, one the Bears needed to have before a tough trip to Florida for the Fort Myers Classic. The senior big hadn't practiced the two days prior to the game due to a sprained ankle suffered against San Diego,

"Until this afternoon, the swelling was still apparent," head coach Mark Fox said, "we finally got the swelling down and he felt good enough in warmups to play. I think Andre has great hands, I think he had a productive evening and I think he could play a lot better obviously. He has been through enough adversity, as well as Grant, that when it got down to it at the end, they're like 'okay, we've been through enough, it's time to win,' he made some really critical plays."

Those critical plays were needed, on a night where Cal struggled offensively outside of Kelly, Anticevich, and Sam Alajiki.

It didn't start cleanly for Cal, as they didn't score their first points for over six minutes. Cal missed their first seven shots and turned the ball over five times before Jalen Celestine hit a 3 with 13:53 left in the half. After that stretch, Cal would make 11 of their next 14 shots, with Sam Alajiki hitting two straight threes, along with Andre Kelly nailing three straight field goals to give the Bears a 29-27 lead.

Cal's defense played well enough in the early going, holding Southern Utah to 12-30 shooting in that stretch, but as Cal's offense went cold, Southern Utah went to John Knight repeatedly, with Knight scoring 16 of his 30 points in the first frame. Cal trailed 12-30 at halftime because of it.

Another half starting slump was stopped by a Jalen Celestine score, but Southern Utah built an early 10 point lead with the Bears missing from all angles. Kelly and Anticevich would keep the Bears in it, with a couple midrange jumpers, and Anticevich would close the gap with another 3. Joel Brown would get intentionally fouled on a runout, made one of the two free throws and had a putback to put the Bears up for the first time in the half.

Cal made one of their biggest defensive moves of the game during that 14-2 run, with Alajiki seeing extended playing time on Knight as his primary defender. The 6'7" forward from Ireland played 26 minutes, with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks as the Bears needed an answer.

"We were having a real hard time with that kid's strength," Fox said, "and Sam is a real strong and powerful guy, we went with that lineup and he did a great job."

"We saw he was a physical player, I was as physical as he was," Alajiki added, "maybe even more physical. I had three blocks on him, I thought I did a good job on him."

Cal would stay tied with the Thunderbirds, as Anticeivch's late midrange jumper, following a dunk attempt by the Aussie that was blocked, was matched by a layup by Maisen Fausett, which sent the Bears to overtime.

Cal would rely on two Kelly jumpers to put them ahead in the first extra frame, but a Fausett three put Cal down 2 with 25 seconds to go. Anticevich would hit a tying shot to send it into double OT, where the two senior forwards would take over and seal out Cal's second win of the season.

- The lineup with Alajiki, Anticevich and Kelly in was something Cal hadn't practiced with, which at times led to some sluggish offense combined with decent defense. It was also coupled with Jordan Shepherd struggling, as the grad transfer guard fouled out after playing only 18 minutes

- Fox noted that Celestine and Jarred Hyder aren't completely back from offseason surgeries, as he also noted that Celestine would have drawn the defensive assignment of Knight normally, while being someone who plays more frequently at the 3 spot.

- Cal turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, but only 5 times throughout the final 3 minutes of play

- Joel Brown's 47 minutes are a career high, as are Andre Kelly's 41 and Grant Anticevich's 43.

- Kelly had another gamechanging play with a minute left, getting a steal right after Southern Utah got an offensive rebound. He outlasted Southern Utah center Jason Spurgin, who left the game with a cramp near the end.

Cal will now head to Florida, where they'll play Florida then one of Ohio State or Seton Hall in the Fort Myers Tip-Off