Nov 27, 2003
Final Stats|
Quotes
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Amit Tamir followed in his own miss with 5.8 seconds
left to score and give Cal a 47-46 win over BYU at Haas Pavilion Wednesday
night.
Tamir had struggled all night, and made just two of 13 shots, but his last
one was good enough for the Bears first win of the season.
Freshman Leon Powe led Cal with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but the Bears
offense had gone scoreless for 5:50 before Tamir followed in his own miss in
the waning seconds.
Cal head coach Ben Braun was pleased with the senior's performance despite
his poor shooting.
"He rebounded well and defended well, and made the people around him
better," Braun said.
Mike Hall, who led BYU with 17 points off the bench, had keyed a Cougar
rally that erased an eight-point Cal lead. But Hall was the only Cougar in
double figures, as 6-11 center Rafael Araujo fouled out with nine points after
only 18 minutes.
Mark Bigelow, the other big gun for BYU (2-0), had only 7 points.
"We were in position to win the game," said BYU coach Steve Cleveland,
"but we just didnt get it done."
Neither team shot better than 38 percent, and Cal was just 1-14 from
three-point distance.
"People are going to look at this score in the morning and think it was a
football game," said Braun, whose Bears shot just 24 percent in the second
half. "It was an ugly-type game. You wont get any style points for that."
The Bears built an eight-point lead, 43-35, with 9:14 to go in the second
half, but three minutes later, it was a one-point game again, and when Hall
gave BYU back the lead with a nifty inside move at 3:35, the Cougars led until
the final sequence.
Cal got the ball back, trailing 46-45, after Mike Woodberry missed the front
end of a one-on-one. With 15 seconds to go, Cal freshman Ayinde Ubaka set up
for the last shot, and drove hard to the basket from the right side.
He missed, but the 6-10 Tamir got the rebound, but missed the follow shot.
The rebound again fell into Tamir's hands, and this time he converted, with
just 5.8 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, BYU pushed the ball downcourt, but Terry Nashif turned the
ball over, and Cal had escaped with the win.
The Golden Bears lost their first game in a similar manner, leading down the
stretch, but giving up a follow shot with 5.8 seconds to go to lose by one to
Cal Poly. This time, however, it was Cal that converted its final opportunity.
Cal's winning streak over BYU has now reached four games, and dates back to
1989. The Bears lead the all-time series 6-4.
