Cal-Arizona Basketball Live Game Updates: Bears Lose to Arizona
Cal lost its fifth straight game, losing to No. 3 Arizona 96-71 on Sunday in Berkeley.
Cal head coach Mark Fox was ejected from the game in the first half after picking up two technical fouls.
Cal’s record: 9-10, 2-6 Pac-12
Arizona’s record: 16-1, 6-0 Pac-12
Cal’s top scorer in the game: Jordan Shepherd 21 points on 7-for-19 shooting
Cal’s top rebounder: Andre Kelly eight rebounds
Arizona’s top scorer in the game: Christian Koloko 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting
Arizona’s top rebounder: Koloko 13 rebounds (and three blocks)
Key statistic: Cal shot 26.1% in the first half, which ended with Arizona leading by 21 points.
Pregame: Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis, who injured his ankle Thursday, was not available for Sunday' game.
Cal entered Sunday's game with a 9-9 record, including 2-5 in the Pac-12, and riding a four-game losing streak.
The Bears have not defeated an AP top-five team since Feb. 1, 2014, when they upset top-ranked Arizona 60-58 in Berkeley. The Bears had lost nine straight games against Arizona coming into Sunday's contest.
Jordan Shepherd began the day leading the Bears in scoring at 14.3 points per game, just ahead of Andre Kelly at 14.2. Grant Anticevich is third at 11.3 points per contest, but over the past three games he averaged just 5.0 points on 25% shooting (7-for-28), including 1-for-10 on three-point shots.
Arizona had won four games in a row before facing Cal on Sunday, and the Wildcats had won each of their five conference games by at least 16 points. Arizona started the day leading the nation in average margin of victory (24.3 points) and is No. 1 in the NET rankings, which are used to determine berths and seeding in the NCAA tournament.
Bennedict Mathurin (17.7 points, 5.9 rebounds) and Azuolas Tubelis (15.1 points, 6.1 rebounds) began the day as Arizona's top scorers. But Tubelis was considered questionable for Sunday's game after injuring his ankle against Stanford on Thursday. He was not in Sunday's starting lineup and will not play.
Arizona has a big game against UCLA on Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion.
Cal ranks first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (62.7), but Arizona leads the conference in scoring (88.3) and topped 90 points seven times before Sunday's game.
Cal starting lineup: G Joel Brown, G Jordan Shepherd, F Andre Kelly, F Grant Anticevich, G Jalen Celestine.
Arizona starting lineup: F Bennedict Manthurin, G Pelle Larsson, C Christian Koloko, G Dalen Terry, G Kerr Kriisa.
FIRST HALF
18:08 first half: Christian Koloko scores Arizona's first four points. Arizona 4, Cal 2.
16:38 first half: Sam Alajiki hits one of two foul shots. Arizona 7, Cal 3.
16:29 first half: Pelle Larsson hits all three free throws after getting fouled. Arizona 10, Cal 3.
15:51 first half: Cal has made only one of its first five shots from the floor, and is having trouble with Arizona's defense. Jordan Shepherd is 0-for-2. Arizona 10, Cal 3.
13:52 first half: The game is getting away from Cal early. Andre Kelly having trouble scoring against Arizona's big centers. Cal is 1-for-8 from the field; Arizona is 6-for-10, including 2-for-3 on three-pointers. Arizona 17, Cal 3.
12:13 first half: Arizona leads 21-7 before Joel Brown converts a three-point play. Arizona 21, Cal 10.
11:04 first half: Cal is 5-for-17 from the floor and missed both its three-point tries. Arizona is shooting 64.3% (9-for-14) and has made three of five three-point shots. Bennedict Mathurin leads the Wildcats with six points. Cal has just one turnover, but Arizona has only one. Arizona 24, Cal 12.
7:59 first half: Arizona's Justin Kier hits a three-pointer as the shot clock sounds to foil a good Cal defensive effort. Cal is shooting 26.1%, and Arizona is shooting 55.6%. Te Bears are 0-for-2 on three-pointers and the Wildcats are 4-for-8. Arizona 27, Cal 14.
7:04 first half: Oumar Ballo converts a three-point play to stretch the lead to 17 points. Arizona 33, Cal 16.
5:49 first half: Cal's Lars Thiemann is wearing mark while on the court. That is what allows him to play because he has been in health protocol. Game is getting physical. Arizona 34, Cal 18
4:06 first half: Cal coach Mark Fox picks up a technical foul after complaining about foul calls. Arizona 41, Cal 18.
3:20 first half: Backup center Oumar Ballo leads Arizona with 11 points, the last two coming on an alley-oop dunk. No Cal player has more than four points. Cal is shooting 24.1%. Arizona 41, Cal 18.
2:37 first half: Mark Fox picks up his second technical foul and is ejected from the game as a result. Arizona's Justin Kier injures his left arm or wrist when fouled on a layup attempts. He leaves the game. Arizona 43, Cal 19
Halftime: Arizona 48, Cal 27
Cal will play the second half without its head coach, because Mark Fox was ejected with 2:37 left after picking up his second technical foul. Assistant coach Chris Harriman will act as the Bears' head coach in the second half.
Arizona's two centers -- starter Christian Koloko (9 points) and backup Oumar Ballo (11 points) -- combined for 20 first-half points.
Cal shot 25.8% in the first half. Arizona ranks second in the nation in field-goal percentage defense yielding 36.3% percent shooting by opponents before Sunday. Cal is unable to deal with Arizona's size inside and its athleticism everywhere.
Cal has committed just four turnovers, but when you shoot under 26% it does not matter so much.
Jordan Shepherd leads Cal in scoring with six points, and he is 1-for-8 from the field.
Kier returned to the game late in the first half.
SECOND HALF
15:43 second half: Arizona gets its lead up to 23 points before Cal makes a run, cutting the deficit to 16 points on a Joel Brown layup with 16:12 left. But Mathurin hits two free throws to make it 16 again. Mathurin has 14 points. Shepherd then hits two free throws and has 12 points. Arizona 56, Cal 40.
13:14 second half: Arizona regains control of the game. Christian Koloko has 11 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Cal calls timeout. Shepherd has 12 points on 3-for-12 shooting. Arizona 63, Cal 40.
12:01 second half Cal's Andre Kelly has just four points. He can't contend with Arizona's two big centers Ballo and Koloko. Arizona 69, Cal 42.
11:17 second half: Koloko is a force defensively, blocking three shots and intimidating other shots. Arizona 69, Cal 42.
9:29 second half: Kelly gets his sixth point with neither Arizona big man on the floor. Arizona 75, Cal 49.
8:00 second half: Arizona has its biggest lead at 27 points. Grant Anticevich has just four points after averaging 5.0 points over the previous three games. Arizona 80, Cal 53.
5:58 second half: Christian Koloko has 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for Arizona. Kelly has eight points, and Anticevich has four. Arizona 84, Cal 58.
Final: Arizona 96, Cal 71
.
Cover photo of Jalen Celestine by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports
.
Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport or going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport
.
