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		Cal shoots past Oregon in a triumphant return home By Morris Phillips January 21, 2010

	Cal’s redemptive effort against Oregon could be called the Big Reconnect. On Thursday, the Bears reconnected with their fans, their favorite spots on Pete Newell Court, and most importantly, their jump shots. In a dominant first half, the Bears rekindled their love affair with the rim, while the Ducks connection with the hoop continues to be distant, so much so, word is the failing relationship could cost Coach Ernie Kent his job. “We just could not score the basketball. That might have been one of the worst shooting performances I’ve ever seen an Oregon team shoot,” Kent, the longtime Oregon coach, said afterwards. Cal shot 54 percent in the opening half, made five of eight from three, and finished with a 15-0 run that basically decided the outcome in just 20 minutes. The Bears led by 27 at that point on the way to an easy 89-57 win that also reconnects them with first place in the Pac-10 at 4-2. More immediately, the win knocks the bad taste from their mouths developed in the non-effort in Saturday’s 15-point loss at Washington. Patrick Christopher, the only Bear to show up for Saturday’s loss against the Huskies, backed up his strong play with 21 first half points, as he dropped his one-dribble three and his fancy, Michael-Jordan inspired turnaround jumper with equal dexterity. And with every open shot, the crowd howled with anticipation, and house announcer Eddy Kleinhans bellowed (“Paatriick!) after Christopher’s two made threes—just like old times. “He had a stretch where he just couldn’t miss. And coach said it would happen if we didn’t look him up, and that’s what he did,” Oregon center Michael Dunigan lamented. “We felt like he wasn’t having a great shooting year like last year, so we wanted to take the inside stuff from him, which I thought we did early on.” Kent said of Christopher. “But then he got a couple of key rebounds. He had a rebound put back, that we had in our possession… kind of got him going. We fouled him on one three, gave him the three free throws. He just got into his rhythm.” “Sure, he’s a great coach, so I would agree,” Christopher said after hearing Kent’s account of how his stellar outing got rolling. At one point, Christopher scored 14 in a row for the Bears turning a narrow 17-13 lead into a 14-point spread, the last two coming on a technically-perfect jumper. The end of Christopher's run started Cal's half-ending 15-0 run that was fueled by Oregon’s deteriorating shooting, resulting in a point total for the half (21) equaled by Christopher. In fact, the Big Three, Christopher along with Jerome Randle and Theo Robertson scored 40 of Cal’s 48 first points, as Coach Mike Montgomery played his starters almost exclusively. “Well our three perimeter guys are all capable of putting up big numbers,” Montgomery said. “If two of the three are shooting the ball really well and we move the ball, then we’re going to be hard to beat. If all three are shooting the ball, then that’s just a bonus.” Wishful Bears’ fans, hoping for a first Pac-10 basketball title for Cal, surely noticed UCLA’s razor-thin 62-61 home win against Washington on Thursday that the makes the conference playing field much friendlier. Now the Bears can take notice of Arizona State, also 4-2, as an immediate concern for the top spot, a team they’ll see next week in Tempe.