Cal MBB picks up first league win over Washington

On Saturday, Cal men’s basketball defeated Washington 84-78. Cal junior Andre Kelly (22 points & 3 rebounds) and Cal grad transfer Ryan Betley (18 points & 3 assists) led the way for the Golden Bears while Washington junior guard Erik Stevenson erupted for 27 points, two points shy of his career high at Wichita State. Kelly’s 22 points for Cal was a season-high. Cal improves to 6-7 overall and 1-5 in the Pac-12 while Washington falls to 1-9 overall and 0-5 in the Pac-12.

“Hard fought game,” Cal head coach Mark Fox said after the game. “Washington’s had a tough start to a year, but they still have a really talented team. And so obviously that zone, they’re so well coached in it. They’re a hard team to play. In the second half I was proud of the way our players responded. Wasn’t pleased with our defense, but offensively, we got the ball in the paint in the way that we needed to, made some threes in the second.”

Early on Washington led 8-4 with 15:39 to go in the 1st half. Washington was shooting 2-5 from the field while Cal was shooting 2-8. Cal was in an offensive funk: Made 0 of their last 4 field goals, 1 of their last 7, and 0 points in the last 2:47. Cal would quickly bounce back to lead 20-19 with 9:39 to go in the half after a bucket inside from Grant Anticevich, who was inserted back into the starting lineup. Jalen Celestine had a triple while Ryan Betley had a pair with 6 points. J’Raan Brooks was up to 6 points for the Huskies, a season-high.

“I was really concerned about Grant today because he was exhausted,” Fox said of Anticevich. “Then without Kuany today, I was really concerned about Grant today and if he could sustain minutes.”

With 7:43 to go in the half, Cal led 26-21 after Betley knocked down a couple of free throws. He was now up to 8 points. Kelly was also up to 8 points, having a solid start of his own. The Huskies needed to get more out of Quade Green, who had just 2 points on a pair of free throws.

“Ryan is a really good player and I think that Ryan is a kind of player that needs other good players around him,” Fox said of Betley. “He plays best off Grant and Matt. The other night he didn’t have other guys forcing help. Today he was just more comfortable was in a rhythm and it was good to see him shoot the ball as he did.”

Cal would lead 32-29 with 3:58 to go in the half. Kelly was off to a really nice start for Cal with 10 points on 5-5 shooting from the field. As for Stevenson, he was up to 9 points for the Huskies, starting to find his groove. It was a tight game at Haas Pavilion.

Cal would lead 36-29 with 2:42 to go in the half after calling for time. It was a crucial stretch for both teams. Kelly was up to 12 points. Washington could not go down by double digits at the half.

Cal would slightly expand their lead to go up 40-32 at halftime. Kelly had 14 points and 2 rebounds at the break on 7-8 shooting from the field. Stevenson was leading the Huskies with 12 points on 3-5 shooting from the field and 4-4 shooting from the foul line. As for Green, he had been quiet with just 5 points on 1-6 shooting from the field. Washington needed to get him rolling and also take better care of the ball (9 turnovers).

Cal got off to a really nice start in the 2nd half, leading 43-32 with 18:28 to go. Nate Roberts missed a wide open layup while Makale Foreman made him pay on the other end with a triple. Washington head coach Mike Hopkins called for time, hoping to fire up his team.

The timeout by Hopkins worked as Washington went on an 11-0 run in the next couple of minutes to make it a 45-43 lead for Cal with 15:20 to go. Stevenson was up to 18 points while Green was up to 10 points. Now it was Mark Fox calling for time.

“Washington can make adjustments throughout the game to take things away from you. They did that today,” Fox said. “We were able to make some open shots today and it really was key.”

Jamal Bey would tie up the game after an and-1 to make it a 50-50 game with 12:59 to go. Washington had the momentum and Cal needed to stop the bleeding. Shortly thereafter, a 3-pointer from Stevenson gave Washington a 53-50 lead with 11:52 to go.

In a reversal of roles, Cal then went on a 12-0 run of their own to lead 67-59 with 7:15 to go. Betley was up to 18 points while Foreman was up to 11 points. Mike Hopkins once again called for time.

Over the next few minutes, Washington got back in the game once more. A layup from Green tied up the game 71-71 before a bucket inside from Kelly gave Cal a 73-71 lead. With 2:58 to go, this game was tight.

A 5-0 run from Joel Brown gave Cal an 80-75 lead with 1:30 to go. Brown knocked down a huge 3-pointer and then got nice layup in transition plus the foul. He would miss the foul shot.

“Our defense had a couple burps, and we gave them so easy looks,” Fox admitted. “Fortunately we battled back and made some baskets to secure the lead.”

In the end, Cal would walk out with an 84-78 victory, picking up their first win of league play. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins and the defense wasn’t up to the level that it needs to be, but considering that Matt Bradley (ankle) is out, Cal should be happy that they found a way to get the job done. As for Washington, they remain winless in league play. If you’re them, it stings to let a game like this get away.

“I thought Betley’s three in a corner three was a huge basket,” Fox said. “Joel has worked hard on his shooting, you don’t have to guard him as closely as other guys, but you cannot not guard him. He’ll shoot it with confidence, and he’ll shoot it well.”

Up next for Cal will be a road game at Colorado on Thursday, January 14. That game will tipoff at 11:00 AM PST on Pac-12 Networks.

Note: Mark Fox addressed the status of Matt Bradley after the game. He said that Bradley is out of the boot and is on to crutches, but he still can’t cut, jump, etc. on his ankle. So, it’s still going to be a little while at least before he comes back. He remains out indefinitely.