Jan. 2, 2000
Box Score
BERKELEY - Freshman guard Donte Smith led five Cal players in double figures with a personal-best 17 points as the Golden Bears wrapped up their non-conference schedule with a 95-87 victory over Davidson Sunday at Haas Pavilion.
Cal, now 9-3 overall, starts Pac-10 play Thursday at home against fifth-ranked Arizona (11-2). Davidson fell to 4-6 with the loss.
In addition to Smith, who shot 5-for-6 from the field, 1-for-1 from three-point range and 6-for-7 from the free throw line, junior forward Sean Lampley posted his sixth double-double of the year. However, Lampley did it in unusual fashion with 14 points and a career-high 12 assists. The assist total was the best for a Cal player since Jelani Gardner had 13 at USC on Jan. 26, 1995.
Also scoring in double digits were freshman Joe Shipp (16 points), freshman Nick Vander Laan (12 points) and sophomore Solomon Hughes (career-best 12 points).
The Bears shot a season-best 57.4 percent from the floor, although Davidson made 57.1 percent of its attempts. The Wildcats were aided by a school-record 16 three-pointers. However, Cal prevailed by forcing 18 turnovers, while committing just eight, and outscoring Davidson from the line, 20-7.
California Head Coach Ben Braun
General Comments:
"I told our players this team was very similar to Penn and I think they proved that. They moved the ball really well and did a great job hitting the open shot. We certainly played hard. This was a big win for us. It's not too often you get a chance to play a team so similar to the team that beat you last. My hats off to their team and to our team as well, because I really think we played hard. They just kept hitting the threes."
On Sean Lampley:
"He did a good job moving the ball tonight. If he can give us some assists like that in games this year, we're going to be all right."
On Solomon Hughes and Nick Vander Laan:
"I thought both Solomon (Hughes) and Nick (Vander Laan) played well tonight. They really gave us an inside presence. We have to be a strong team inside and that's going to open things up for us on the perimeter. It's not enough to just be a strong team on the perimeter."
