BERKELEY -- The California men's basketball team shrugged off five lead changes and eight ties with a late push to another home victory, beating visiting Presbyterian 67-57 tonight at Haas Pavilion.
John Camden scored 18 of his final 20 points in the second half to help stabilize the Golden Bears through a game that was tight until the final few minutes. Cal improves to 4-1 overall with the win, while the Blue Hose go to 3-4.
Teams fought through five ties in the first half while the Bears saw their seven-point lead erased until a late strike got Cal a 31-29 lead for halftime. The Bears had shot 48.3 percent from the floor to outpace the Blue Hose at 36.7 percent, but the guests were ahead on the boards to the tune of a 22-13 rebounding advantage in those first 20 minutes. Cal closed the gap on the boards and found a better scoring touch in the second half, winding up at 51 percent overall while Presbyterian finished at 37.5 percent. The rebounding margin, meanwhile, wrapped as a 34-30 Blue Hose advantage.
Camden's game-high 20 points led a group of three Bears in double digits, with
Lee Dort matching his career high of 15 points and
Chris Bell pumping in 14. Dort also led on the boards with eight rebounds, while
Justin Pippen served up six assists for the Bears. The Blue Hose were led by Carl Parrish's 16 points along with 13 apiece from Jonah Pierce and Triston Wilson.
It was a back-and-forth battle in the opening five minutes with the score locking up three times. Cal took its first lead of the game on
Chris Bell's second 3-pointer of the night, edging ahead 12-11 at 13:40. A three from
Rytis Petraitis gave the Bears a boost next, and
Lee Dort struck down low to craft a 17-12 Cal advantage. Presbyterian chopped the margin down to one with 7:35 on the clock, prompting Cal to respond with an 8-2 rally that featured Bell's venture into a fourth straight double-digit game. Dort converted down low once more, and Cal gripped a 27-20 lead entering the final four minutes of the first half. Again Presbyterian forced the issue, clawing back to snarl things up at 29-29 in the final minute with a 7-0 surge.
Milos Ilic stopped that run with a bucket in the paint with 17 seconds left, and Cal had a 31-29 edge at the break.Â
The Blue Hose snagged their first lead since the first five minutes of the first half with a 3-pointer landed to make it 34-33 at 18:00 in the second half. Almost six minutes later, Presbyterian was on top again, only to see
Dai Dai Ames land his first three of the night at 12:02 to nudge the hosts ahead 46-44.
John Camden followed with a long one of his own, and then Camden and Dort followed a single Blue Hose bucket with scores down low to lift Cal ahead 53-46 at the eight-minute mark. A timely three-point play from Camden released some pressure with 2:38 to go, netting a 61-53 Bear lead
NEXT: Cal sticks to Haas Pavilion this week for more action in the Empire Classic, hosting Sacramento State at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 21).
NOTABLE:
- With 14 points,
Chris Bell scored in double digits for the fourth straight game.
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John Camden (20 points) scored in double digits for the fourth time this season, with his second 20-point outing of the year.
- With 15 points,
Lee Dort hit double digits for the third time this season, making a career-high seven field goals.
- Cal's 51 percent shooting effort was its third 50+ game of the season.
- This was the first-ever meeting between Cal and Presbyterian.
