Jan. 29, 2000

Box Score

BERKELEY - Senque Carey's fall away three-pointer at the final buzzer capped a 14-point Washington comeback, as the Huskies escaped Haas Pavilion with a 54-52 victory Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Washington broke a six-game losing streak and improved to 7-13 overall and 2-6 in the Pac-10. Cal fell to 11-8 and 2-5.

Early in the game, it seemed like neither team wanted to score. Nick Vander Laan tallied Cal's opening bucket at the 18:37 mark, and Washington tied it a 2-2 with 13:57 left. The Huskies went ahead 15-13 on a Marlon Shelton layup before the Bears closed the half on an 11-0 run to lead, 24-15, at the break.

In the second half, Cal appeared to be on the verge of putting the game away when Joe Shipp's basket gave the Bears a 36-22 advantage at the 14:16 mark. However, the Huskies scored the next seven points and kept the game close until the end.

Cal had several opportunities to increase its lead, but the Bears shot just 2-of-8 from the free throw line in the second half (9-for-21 in the game). Cal also shot just 34.5 percent from the floor.

That allowed the Huskies to remain in the contest, and Deon Luton put UW up, 51-50, with 1:46 left with a three-pointer. Sean Lampley answered with a short jumper to put the Bears back in front. Cal forced a UW turnover on its next possession, but Donte Smith missed the front end of a one-and-one situation with 8 seconds to go.

That set up Carey's final shot that he hit from the left wing as the buzzer sounded. Washington fueled its comeback by shooting 53.6 percent from the floor in the second half, including 6-of-8 from three-point range.

Lampley led all scorers with 20 points, while Vander Laan had his third consecutive double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Shantay Legans also had a career-best five steals.

California vs. Washington Post-game Quotes

California Head Coach Ben Braun

General Comments:

"I don't remember one that's been more frustrating. There were just countless ways we handed this game over."

"It's hard to live with not getting the hustle plays. If you give teams opportunities like we did today, they're going to take advantage."

"The big question right now is whether this young team can play back to back games, and the answer today was no."

Washington Head Coach Bob Bender

General Comments:

"This was a game we badly needed to win, any way we could. Ironically it came in a close game. We weren't perfect, but even scoring only 15 points at halftime, we felt like we were in it."

"We needed a win badly. And I'm happy and proud of our kids, especially after the two bad losses we've had."

On the end of the game: "The end of the game, with the three overtime games we've had, gave us the experience we needed to win the game. It may sound a little hokey, but we always tell our players, 'Good or bad, go on to the next play.'"

"The little bit of chaos (at the end of the game after the missed free throw) can help the offense and hurt the defense. Senque (Carey) was feeling it, and it was either going to go in or it wasn't going to go in."