Cal Sports Report

Cal Lets Lead Slip Away in OT Loss to Washington

Bears led by 11 points with 10 minutes left and missed free throws in closing minutes of regulation that could have won it

Jake Curtis

Cal seemed to have its first road victory of the season in its hip pocket on Saturday in Seattle, but the Golden Bears let it slip away in an 81-78 overtime loss to Washington.

The Bears (3-15, 2-5 Pac-12) led by 11 points with 10 minutes remaining and never trailed in the second half.  The Bears still led by six points with 2:35 left in regulation, but Cal went 0-for-3 from the foul line in the final two minutes, forcing overtime.

Washington (11-8, 3-5 Pac-12) led throughout the overtime, making four of five field-goal attempts in the extra period. 

A three-point shot by Cal freshman Grant Newell, who scored a season-high 21 points, got the Bears within a point with 6.0 seconds left in overtime.  But Keion Brooks Jr., who finished with 26 points, made both free throws with 4.5 seconds to go, and Kuany Kuany's three-point shot at the buzzer was partially blocked and did not come close.  It was debatable whether he got the shot off before the final buzzer anyway, and it also was questionable whether he was fouled on the play.

No call. Game over.

"Really disappointing loss," Cal coach Mark Fox said. "We had every opportunity to win the game in regulation, and just didn't finish the plays, didn't make free throws. When you have those opportunities you have to seize them."

Cal again was without Devin Askew, the team's leading scorer, who has missed six games this season.  But Cal had a golden opportunity to win this game in regulation time. 

The Bears led 54-43 with 10:11 left in the second half, and they still had a six-point lead when Brooks hit two free throws to cut the margin to four with 2:23 left.  Cal's Sam Alajiki then missed both free throws with 1:47 to go, and Noah Williams, who finished with 22 points, scored from outside to get the Huskies within two points at the 1:20 mark.

After the teams traded turnovers Cal retained the two-point lead at 63-61 with 27.8 seconds remaining when Kuany Kuany, an 84.1% free-throw shooter, went to the foul line.  But he missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Brooks Jr. scored from close range to tie the score with 12.2 seconds left.

Kuany's three-point shot under pressure at the buzzer was not close.

It ruined a big game for Newell, who not only had a season high in points, but also had 10 rebounds and three steals.

"Grant is going to be a terrific player," Fox said.

Newell's follow-shot dunk in the second half:

Cal led for most of the first half and led by seven points, 33-26, at halftime.

Newell scored 10 first-half points, and he scored the final four points of the half, with his final bucket being a dunk with 23 seconds left before halftime.

Cal committed just four turnovers in the first half and finished the game with only nine turnovers. The Bears were 12-for-21 from the foul line for the game.

Joel Brown had 12 points and five assists for Cal, and DeJuan Clayton added 11 points on 3-for-13 shooting.

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Cover photo of Cal's Marsalis Roberson is by James Snook, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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