Cal Basketball: Bears' Skid Reaches 9 Games After Overtime Loss to ASU

Cal played well defensively until the extra period, when ASU took charge.

Cal’s defense was tight all afternoon against Arizona State, until the game went to overtime.

Then the Sun Devils made six of seven shots and pulled away to score a 70-62 victory, handing the Golden Bears their ninth straight defeat in front of 2,088 at Haas Pavilion.

“I was proud of how hard our players competed. I felt like defensively they were terrific,” coach Mark Fox said. “We just didn’t rebound it well. Gave up 20 offensive rebounds and that’s probably the difference in the game.

“I feel awful for our fans and our players. It was such a heart-breaking loss because we really competed well and gave a great effort.”

The Bears (3-22, 2-12 Pac-12) held ASU (18-8, 9-6) under 29 percent through regulation, including barely 20 percent in the second half. During one long stretch, the Sun Devils were able to make just 1 of 20 shot attempts against a small Cal lineup designed to combat ASU’s quickness.

But the Sun Devils came alive over the final 2 1/2 minutes of regulation and in the OT, scoring 21 points those 7 1/2 minutes after managing just 17 through the first 17 1/2 minutes of the second period.

“It was definitely disappointing being that close down the stretch. You always want to finish games,” said sophomore Monty Bowser, who scored a career-high 14 points. “I’m happy with the way we fought today even though we didn’t pull it out. I feel like we’re making steps in the right direction.”

So many of Cal’s games this season have not been competitive, but the Bears never trailed by more than eight points and seemed on the doorstep of victory when sophomore Sam Alajiki made three 3-point baskets in the final 2:42 of regulation, the last one tying the score at 57-all with 25 seconds showing.

ASU ran the clock down before guard Frankie Collins used a screen to set up a 15-foot shot with rattled around the rim before missing just before the buzzer.

Cal never led in the overtime. Collins made a pair of free throws and Alonzo Gaffney scored on a putback — two of 17 second-chance points the Sun Devils cashed in — and ASU was on its way.

Bowser, the one-time Bishop O’Dowd High star, converted a drive and free throw to make it 61-60 with 3:25 left in overtime before a jumper and a 3-pointer by Desmond Cambridge Jr. pushed the visitors’ lead to six points.

Cal shot just 2 for 10 in the extra period.

“We ran out of steam,” Fox said. “We don’t have any depth and everyone knows we don’t have any depth. Tonight it showed in the overtime. We wore down a bit.”

The Bears actually got 28 points from their reserves on Saturday — 14 apiece from Bowser and Grant Newell. A freshman forward, Newell has been starting recently but was brought off the bench in this one after cramping late in Thursday’s loss to Arizona.

The two carried Cal in the first half. combining to score 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting. The rest of the team managed just 10 points on 8 for 22 from the field and 1 for 9 on 3’s.

Fox talks about Bowser in the video above, suggesting he is just now beginning to gain some confidence after missing half of last season due to injury.

Alajiki, scoreless in the first half, wound up with 11 points, matching the total of grad transfer DeJuan Clayton, who continues to struggle shooting the ball after missing 16 games due to injury or illness. He made just 3 of 12 attempts but did drill a timely 3-pointer to pull the Bears within 49-48 with 4:28 to play in regulation.

Cambridge scored 24 points for the Sun Devils , Horne had 12 and Collins scored 10.

Cover photo of Kuany Kuany on defense by Neville E. Guard, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo


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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics.