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Cal wins again to gain Pac-10 title berth
By Morris Phillips March 12, 2010 |
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In a half of hot shooting, Cal shot 50 percent while UCLA sizzled at 57 percent to lead by four, 39-35. Guess which team was in trouble? No doubt, UCLA. If it’s a shooting contest, the Bears usually win those. And on the big stage of the Pac-10 tournament, Cal didn’t disappoint, shooting 70 percent in the final 20 minutes to win going away, 85-72. Jerome Randle’s scoring was critical in the first 30 minutes, when UCLA was still in striking range, and he led the Bears with 24 points, while breaking the school career-scoring record held by Sean Lampley. Randle has now scored 1,790 points in his storied Cal career. With the win, top-seeded Cal advances to Sunday’s championship game to face No. 3 Washington, who advanced with a wire-to-wire 79-64 win over Stanford in the second game. “We knew they would be fired up. This was their opportunity to go to the NCAA tournament and frankly, they played a little bit harder than we did to start,” Coach Mike Montgomery said. “Basically we just started playing the kind of basketball that we’ve been playing the last month or so.” Numerous factors have caused UCLA’s fall from grace, after a five-year roll that saw them go to the Final Four three straight years. And in the matchup with Cal, their inability to play the physical, quick defense that they’ve come to be known for under Coach Ben Howland figured to be their downfall. But early on, along with their surprising shooting, the Bruins forced the Bears into quick shots, which were often challenged, and rebounded far better than they have most of the year. With UCLA senior Michael Roll leading UCLA offensively, the Bruins established a 10-point lead eight minutes in, but then committed a trio of turnovers that kept Cal from falling further behind. Then later in the half, Roll’s 3-pointer put the Bruins up nine, but on their next possession he threw up a wild-runner and committed a reaching foul. That triggered Cal’s 5-0 run to end the half, finishing with Randle’s trademark step-in three with four seconds to go that got Cal within four at the half. The second half started with UCLA missing its first four shots, and their lead disappeared. The Cal offense showed a greater focus, getting the ball to their three scoring seniors and allowing them to create off the dribble or involving them in screen and rolls. The strategy taxed the Bruins, and exposed their lack of lateral quickness. In the eight plus minutes following halftime, the Bears established their own 10-point lead and never looked back. The zone the Bruins often resorted to this year, which set off alarms in Westwood signaling the demise of UCLA, never materialized Friday night. Howland conceded that when his guys started to struggle after halftime, he never considered switching, figuring it didn’t slow the hot-shooting Bears in their earlier matchup at UCLA, and it wouldn’t stop them here, especially with Cal executing far better as the game progressed. Even Montgomery, who has referenced UCLA’s need to hide their deficient individual defenders on several occasions, was surprised Howland didn’t try the zone to slow Cal. “They’re a very difficult matchup for us, and I think they proved that tonight,” Howland said. With the win, Cal has won six straight, and nine of ten, and the opportunity to add the tourney championship has their players as well as Montgomery energized. The strong showing in the recent weeks will definitely catch the NCAA committee’s attention on Sunday, and the buzz that Cal could land in San Jose, for the opening two NCAA games, gained steam following the game. If the hourly bracketology updates have any merit, the Bears are looking more like a six or seven seed earning a favorable matchup in the opening round. For Randle, his shooting display was well-received by the Staples Center crowd, as well as by Montgomery, as he worked the Bruins inside and out, showing great versatility and decision-making, while shooting 7 for 11 from the field. Montgomery also concurred that the attention Randle has received is well deserved. “What I am most proud of that (Randle’s Pac-10 Player of the Year award) comes with winning the league, winning games, playing with other good players and not having overshadowed—and sure, he was MVP of the league—but allowing those teammates to also have great senior seasons. That’s what great players do,” Montgomery said. “Now Sean Lampley can stop biting his nails because it’s over with,” Randle said, referring to encouraging phone calls he had received from the former record holder. |
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