Cal Basketball: Bears Come Alive Late vs. Saint Mary's But Slept For Far Too Long

Gaels claim 89-77 victory at Haas - their third straight win over the Bears

Cal played pretty well against Saint Mary's on Saturday night . . . after falling behind by as many as 18 points. Quite simply, the Bears waited too long before showing they were able to compete on even terms with an experienced, accomplished team.

Saint Mary's beat the Bears for the third straight season, winning 89-77 in front of a 5,734 fans at Haas Pavilion.

Andre Kelly scored a career-high 26 points, but for much of the game he was the only Cal player getting anything done. Matt Bradley and Grant Anticevich finished strong for the Bears, but did nothing for long stretches, allowing the Gaels to take charge.

The Bears (6-5) led 10-2 out of the game but trailed 45-29 by halftime after Saint Mary's made 9 of its first 11 attempts from the 3-point arc. Cal climbed within eight points twice late in the second half but the Gaels (10-2) rarely missed from the free throw line to maintain control.

"Disappointing loss for our team," coach Mark Fox said. "I felt like we got off to a very good start and then we let some offensive struggles impact our defense in the last half of the first half against a very good offensive team."

Fox said the Bears aren't into moral victories "and we'll never be."

The Bears knew they would have to defend the perimeter because the Gaels entered the game leading the nation in 3-point accuracy at 44.4 percent. Fox said his club's inability to find open 3-point shooters in the first half was critical to the outcome. 

"We made some serious mental errors, which allowed open shots to a great 3-point shooting team," he said. "They'll make you pay, and Saint Mary's did."

In particular, the Bears lost track of forward Malik Fitts, who made 5 of 6 shots from the 3-point arc in the first half, when he scored 21 of his 28 points.

"When you give up open shots to a great shooter, it's going to go in," Fox said. "And we gave him some wide open shots."

Fitts got into foul trouble in the second half, but guard Jordan Ford more than picked up the slack, scoring 25 of his 32 points in the final 20 minutes. 

Bradley wound up with 14 points and Anticevich had 11, but the two combined for just six in points the first half.

Fox said a share of that was strong defense by the Gaels. "Their defense never gets the credit it deserves," he said. "Those two guys have been good players for us. (Saint Mary's) obviously probably schemed to slow them down, and they did a nice job."

(Click here for Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett's postgame comments, saying Cal is better than last year.)

Fox was displeased with the officiating to the point that he drew his first technical foul of the season with 14:44 left. The Gaels wound up shooting 29-for-33 from the free throw line, although many of those were late while Cal was trying to slow the game.

"Here's what I'll say: we did not play well enough to win the game," Fox said. "And I did get assessed a technical foul. I do know this: If there comes a time where I have to fight for my team, I will every single time."

Kelly made 8 of 11 from the field and 10 of 11 from the FT line. He had four and-one plays he completed.

"He's really matured with his ability to finish," Fox said. "I thought he had some really, really good moments today."

-- The Bears lost to USF, Santa Clara and Saint Mary's - the West Coast Conference's three Bay Area teams -- in the same season for the first time since 1934-35. They have dropped three in a row to the Gaels for the first time since going 0-3 vs. the Gaels in the 1941-42 season.

PRE-GAME: Cal (6-4) tangles tonight with a third fourth West Coast Conference opponent, completing a season set against the league's three Bay Area teams.

This will be the toughest of the group, with Saint Mary's (9-2 entering the game) making the short trek down Hwy 24 from Moraga.

The Bears will try to avert a clean sweep by the WCC's three local squads after losing a week ago on the road to both USF and Santa Clara. Cal has not lost to Saint Mary's, USF and Santa Clara in the same season since 1934-35.

Cal opened the season with a home victory over Pepperdine, also from the WCC

At the same time, Cal hopes to avoid losing to Saint Mary's for a third straight time. That hasn't happened since the 1941-42 season when the Gaels swept a three-game season series from the Bears.

The Bears are coming off a 69-63 win over Fresno State on Wednesday, just their second victory in six games after a 4-0 start.

Check back for in-game updates:

STARTING LINEUP: Cal will go with the same starting group - PG Paris Austin, SG Matt Bradley, SG Kareem South, F Grant Anticevich and C Andre Kelly.

15:19 1st H: Great start for the Bears. South has hit consecutive 3-pointers to extend the Bears' lead. Saint Mary's, which has been prone to slow starts this season, is 0-for-5 from the field with 3 turnovers. Cal 10, Saint Mary's 2.

11:16 1st H: That didn't last long. Saint Mary's is on a 15-5 run (and shooting a free throw after the timeout) to erase the early 8-point deficit, The Gaels are one of the nation's most efficient 3-point shooting teams and three different players -- Tommy Kuhse, Malik Fitts and Jordan Ford -- have connected from beyond the arc to fuel the burst. Saint Mary's 17, Cal 15.

7:21 1st H: Saint Mary's continues to hurt the Bears from deep - the Gaels are 4-for-5 from the 3-point arc. South is shooting 4-for-4 (2-for-2 on threes) and leads the Bears with 10 points. SMC is shooting 50 percent but has six turnovers. Cal at just 41 percent, but only three turnovers. Saint Mary's 22, Cal 19.

5:24 1st H: Stop me if you heard this one . . . Cal MUST defend the 3-point arc against this team. Malik Fitts just hit two more from deep -- he is 4-for-4 from the arc and SMC is 6-for-8 on 3's. That's 75 percent. Yikes! Saint Mary's 28, Cal 22. 

4:24 1st H: Mark Fox calls another timeout, no doubt to say . . . well, you know what he's saying. Freshman Alex Ducas hit 3-pointers on the Gaels' past two possessions and that makes SMC 8-for-10 from deep. Yes, 80-freaking-percent. Saint Mary's 34, Cal 24.

HALFTIME: Saint Mary's 45, Cal 29. The Gaels made 9 of their first 11 shots from the 3-point arc (they missed their past two) and Cal could not keep up. Saint Mary's entered the game leading the NCAA in 3-point accuracy at 40.4 percent and they are are 69 percent for the first half. SMC also is 10-for-11 from the FT line. Malik Fitts leads all scorers with 21 points (5-for-6 on 3's). Kareem South leads the Bears with 10 points but has scored in the final 14:45 of the half. Matt Bradley, the Bears' leading scorer this season, missed his first four shots, is just 1-for-6 in the half with three points. The Bears are shooting 42 percent and have made 4-of-7 from the 3-point arc. They have just 4 turnovers. But they are being out-rebounded 19-10.

16:57 2nd H: Andre Kelly is doing what he can to keep Cal in this game. He has two old-school three-point plays this half and a team-high 12 points. But Fitts continues to scorch the Bears - he has 26 points. Saint Mary's 54, Cal 37.

11:29 2nd H: The game is degenerating a bit. Mark Fox repeatedly unhappy with the officiating - finally was whistled for a technical foul after Matt Bradley was called for a personal foul. Cal has bigger problems, including a 25-13 rebounding deficit and trying to defend Malik Fitts, who has 28 points for the Gaels. Saint Mary's 61, Cal 46.

7:57 2nd H: Andre Kelly going to the FT line after the timeout to possibly complete another three-point play. The sophomore big man has a career-high 23 points and counting. And Fitts just picked up his fourth personal foul for the Gaels. Still not over. Saint Mary's 68, Cal 57.

3:35 2nd H: Grant Anticevich has scored Cal's past three baskets, taking advantage of the fact that Gaels' defender Malik Fitts has four fouls and cannot afford another. The Bears got as close as 72-64, but Jordan Ford answered with a 3-pointer. He and Fitts each have 28 points for SMC. Kelly has 24 for the Bears, who are not giving in but are running short on time. Saint Mary's 75, Cal 64.