Box Score | Quotes
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Coach Ben Braun took a veteran California team to
the NIT crown last season. He's trying to repeat with a young Cal squad this
year.
Sean Lampley had 20 points, including six straight in a 12-1 run to start
the second half, as a Cal team that starts just one senior opened defense of
its NIT crown with a 70-66 victory over Long Beach State on Wednesday night.
"I'm real proud of our young guys," Braun said. "Several of our top
players are freshmen. No one else in the country can say that."
Robbie Jones, the team's only senior starter, added a career-high 19 points
for the Golden Bears (17-14), who scored the first eight points of the second
half and held the 49ers (24-6) without a basket for the first 4:24 after
halftime.
Long Beach State also went the final 3:05 of the first half without a
basket, and was outscored 16-1 in that 7 1/2-minute span bridging halftime.
"I think we played well in the first half. In the second half, in the first
six or seven minutes, we didn't play as well as we should have," Long Beach
State coach Wayne Morgan said. "It's not what they did, it's what we didn't
do. We didn't catch passes. We were careless and turned it over and we didn't
cover defensively."
The Bears next will play host to Georgetown (19-14), which defeated Virginia
115-111 in triple overtime Wednesday night.
Lampley, MVP of the NIT last year and the only Cal starter returning from
that championship team, also had nine rebounds and six assists to lead the
Bears.
James Williams scored 17 points and D'Cean Bryant added 15 on five
3-pointers for the 49ers. But Mate Milisa, the team's leading scorer this
season with 18.8 points per game, was held to 12 points and went 1-for-6 on
3-pointers.
Trailing 34-33 at halftime, Cal opened the second half with a dunk by
Solomon Hughes and three straight baskets by Lampley. After Milisa hit one of
two free throws, the Bears scored four more points to take a 45-35 lead.
Cal still had a 10-point margin when Lampley's jumper made it 61-51 with
5:02 remaining. The 49ers then went on a 10-1 run, including two 3-pointers by
Bryant, to pull within a point with 2:33 remaining.
"We put ourselves in a hole and I wasn't looking for the shot, but I knew
we needed to score points," Bryant said.
Jones banked in a shot and Lampley followed with a layup to give Cal a 66-61
lead with 1:14 left. Lampley's layup made it 68-63, but Bryant hit another 3 to
pull the 49ers within two points with 35 seconds left.
Shantay Legans missed a free throw for Cal with 12.4 seconds remaining and
Long Beach State tried to go the length of the court after getting the rebound.
But Jones stole the ball and scored on a layup at the other end for the final
score.
"I was scared to death, because nobody picked up the man coming down the
court," said Jones, whose previous career high was 11 points. "He bobbled the
ball and I picked it up."
Long Beach State had gone 10-1 on the road this season, and had won 22 of
its previous 24 games.
Bryant hit two of Long Beach State's five 3-pointers as the 49ers took a
34-33 halftime lead. Long Beach State led by five with three minutes left in
the half, but Cal scored the final four points before halftime.
