Cal Basketball: Matt Bradley's 26 Points Power Bears to 73-66 Win over WSU

Bears snap 17-game losing streak in the month of January

Cal gave away most of a 10-point lead in the final 2 minutes Thursday night.

Matt Bradley made sure Washington State got no closer.

Bradley scored a career-high 26 points and nailed a straight-on 3-point shot with 27.6 seconds left after the Cougars cut a 69-59 deficit to 69-66.

"I was real happy with my performance," Bradley said. "Coach got on me . . . I noticed I was getting a little too comfortable. He led me (to) be uncomfortable this week, and it showed. I felt really confident."

Cal (7-8, 1-1 Pac-12) snapped a 17-game losing streak in the month of January and improved to 7-2 at Haas Pavilion.

The Bears trailed by 14 points midway through the first half after they turned the ball over 10 times on their first 17 possessions. Then they used a 25-5 burst over the final 10 minutes to lead 40-34 at the break. They stretched their margin to 54-41 with just under 14 minutes left on a putback by Bradley,

Coach Mark Fox, who got his first Pac-12 victory, talks in the video below about the Bears'  poor start but also their strong bounce-back in the final 10 minutes of the opening period.

But the Cougars (10-6, 1-2) kept at it and trailed just 69-66 when Bradley delivered the game's biggest shot.

He eclipsed his previous career high of 25 points in a game played before a crowd without students but that included Cal football coach Justin Wilcox, new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and Hall of Fame Julius Erving.

Bradley shot 10-for-14 from the field, grabbed 10 rebounds and had a team-high four assists. 

Paris Austin added a season-high 17 point and three assists and Grant Anticevich scored 12. Freshman guard Joel Brown also played a strong game with seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

Washington State was led by C.J. Elleby, who had 22 points and nine rebounds. 

Cal returns to action Saturday at 5 p.m. against Washington (11-5, 1-2), which lost 61-55 at Stanford earlier tonight. 

PRE-GAME: Cal will try to break a 17-game losing streak in the month of January and make an already bad day for Washington State even worse.

The Bears (6-8, 0-1 Pac-12) and Cougars (10-5, 1-1) meet at Haas Pavilion tonight, hours after WSU learned that successful football coach Mike Leach had been wooed away by Mississippi State.

It doesn’t change the fact that Cal has not won a game in the month of January since a 66-55 victory over Stanford on Jan. 29, 2017 in which Ivan Rabb had 25 points and 13 rebounds.

The Bears were 0-8 in January each of the past two seasons and began Pac-12 play this season with a 68-52 loss at Stanford. (Cal opened conference play two years ago with a win at Stanford, but that game was played on Dec. 30).

Both the Bears and Cougars feature first-year coaches. Mark Fox is Cal's new boss and WSU is led by Kyle Smith, who coached USF to three straight 20-victory seasons before moving on to the Pac-12.

One of Cal’s biggest challenges tonight will be containing sophomore C.J. Elleby, who has scored 18 points or more in 24 of his 43 career games. A wiry 6-foot-6 forward, Elleby is a good rebounder, capable 3-point shooter and shoots 5.1 free throws per game.

The Bears are hoping just their second game at Haas Pavilion since Dec. 14 will provide a boost. Cal is 6-2 at home this season.

Come back for tipoff at 7:30 p.m. and our in-game updates.

CAL LINEUP: Guards Matt Bradley, Kareem South and Joel Brown, forward Grant Anticevich and center Lars Thiemann. 

15:16 1st H: Turnovers once more an issue for the Bears. They have five already, including on each of the past three possessions (although the charge call just now against Lars Thiemann was a flop by the WSU defender). Matt Bradley got off to a good start, showing aggressiveness on a driving dunk. But he has not attempted another shot. Washington State 8, Cal 6.

11:39 1st H: The Bears are now up to eight turnovers - basically one a minute, a very dangerous pace. Bradley just scored on a drive and will be shooting the and-1 after the timeout. Washington State 15, Cal 10.

7:07 1st H: Biggest cheer of the night just now when the video screen showed Justin Wilcox. Also on hand tonight, the incomparable Julius Erving, whose son Jules is a junior guard for the Bears. Washington State 29, Cal 18.

3:27 1st H: It's really pretty easy. The turnovers stop and the point can come. Cal had given the ball away 10 times on its first 17 possessions, but just once on its past 12 times with the ball. Bradley has 12 points and two assists and the Bears have held the Cougars to two points on their past seven possessions (yep, four turnovers). Bradley just passed ahead to Andre Kelly, who converted the layup and is shooting the and-1. And, it's good. A 21-6 run by the Bears since they trailed 25-11.  Cal 32, WSU 31.

HALFTIME: Cal 40, WSU 34. The Bears played their best 10 minutes of the season and have turned a 14-point deficit into a six-point lead. WSU had leads off 25-11 and 29-15 before the Bears took off. After coughing up 10 turnovers in the first 10 minute, they gave it away just once more in the final 10 minutes and the difference is obvious. Cal shot 8 for 13 from the field over the final 10 minutes. Cal closed the half with a 25-5 surge. Bradley has been the spark. He has 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting, five rebounds and two assists. Paris Austin came off the bench and also gave a strong effort with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Cal is winning the rebounding battle 16-10 and has seven assists after totaling just three in the loss at Stanford. Cal finished the half at 56 percent from the field. WSU shot 46 percent and had eight turnovers.

13:33 2nd H: The Haas Pavilion crowd just delivered a brief standing ovation, and it wasn't because of anyone the PA man introduced. The Bears have taken command against the Cougars and have used a 7-0 burst to stretch their lead to 13 points. Bradley has 18 points and Austin has 17, with the two combining to shooting 14-for-17. The Bears have just two turnovers in the past 16 1/2 minutes.They are shooting 63 percent this half. Cal 54, WSU 41.

8:46 2nd H: The Cougars clawed back within 56-50, using a zone defense that was giving Cal trouble. But two free throws by Bradley and a fast break dunk by him off a feed from Joel Brown has pushed the lead back to double digits. Bradley has 22 points. Cal, by the way, has not won a Pac-12 game by a double-digit margin since beating Oregon State 76-46 way back on Feb. 24, 2017. Cal 60, WSU 50.

4:29 2nd H: The Cougars used a 9-0 run to get with 63-59 after a driving layup by Noah Williams with 4:44 left. But Grant Anticevich just scored on a mid-range jumper and has a free throw coming. Cal 65, WSU 59.