Cal Outworks Washington State For 7-Point Win

Cougars Shut Down Randle, Bears Still Come Out On Top

The California men's basketball team bolstered their Pac-10 conference record to 3-0, and their overall mark to 14-2, with a hard fought 57-50 win against one of the best defensive teams in the country in the Washington State. Coming into the game, the Cougars had allowed only 50 points per contest.

The Bears came out on top despite the fact that their best player—Jerome Randle—was largel held in check, scoring a total of 8 points on 3-9 shooting, and missing all five of his 3-point attempts. Unlike years past, when Cal's best player being held in check usually meant a loss, the Bears were able to persevere. Randle, for his part, was able to shrug off the bad shooting by also grabbing five rebounds, and getting five assists as well. 

The Bears' second best player stepped up for Randle. Patrick Christopher contributed 22 points on 9-14 shooting including going 4-6 from beyond the arc. But the biggest impact came from Jamal Boykin, who is a solid player and knows his role on the team.

Tonight Cal needed Boykin to help out scoring the ball as well as rebounding, and he came up big at both ends. Boykin finished with 12 points on 6-12 shooting and added 14 rebounds as well. 

The Bears did shoot extremely well from the floor minus Randle's 33 percent effort from the field. In total the Bears shot 50 percent from the field (24-48) but did struggle however, from beyond the 3-point line, going 5-14 from beyond the arc. Though the Bears didn't really get to the free-throw line often, they did make the most of it, hitting all of their four free throws. 

Even while shooting 50 percent, Washington State made a game of it, and stayed within striking distance throughout the game. Yet, the problem for the Cougars was that they only had two players who actually made a difference in the game. 

Klay Thompson and Taylor Rochestie combined to go 14-28 from the field for 33 points, but the rest of the Cougars team consisted of having only three other players score— Aron Baynes, Nikola Koprivica, and Caleb Forrest. 

That group went a combined 6-19 from the field for 17 points. There were four other Washington State players who played at least 9 minutes: Marcus Capers, Abe Lodwick, DeAngelo Casto, and Daven Harmeling. That group didn't score, and went 0-6 from the field.

The Cougars, as you might imagine, only had two players in double figures—Thompson and Rochestie. On the other hand, Cal had three players in double figures: Christopher, Boykin, and Theo Robertson.

These types of games are must-win games for a team like the Bears if they want to get respect around the country. For one, the Cougars are amazing defensively, and it's a testament to Tony Bennet's program that Cal didn't beat them by double digits. 

Secondly, it showed that when Randle has an off night, the Bears have players who can step up and fill the void with players like Robertson and Boykin. 

Lastly, it becomes another solid win for Cal, and gives the Bears more confidence that they can push for the best record in the Pac-10, or at least towards the top of the standings.