Mar 13, 2008

Cal earns shot at UCLA

Christopher, Anderson lead Bears in Pac-10 tourney opener

By JOHN NADEL / Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - The California Golden Bears got just what they wanted - another shot at No. 3 UCLA.

Patrick Christopher scored 25 points, Ryan Anderson had 22 points and 16 rebounds, and the Bears rallied for an 84-81 victory over Washington on Wednesday night in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament.

The ninth-seeded Bears (16-14) and top-seeded Bruins (28-3) meet in a second-round game Thursday - five days after UCLA won a controversial 81-80 decision at nearby Pauley Pavilion in the regular-season finale.

"Obviously we were really upset after the game," Anderson said. "We know now we can compete. This is the most ready we've been all year."

Said Christopher: "It'll be a fun game to watch. Put on your seat belts."

Josh Shipp hit a rainbow jumper over the backboard with 1.5 seconds remaining to cap UCLA's rally from an 11-point deficit.

The Bruins got their final opportunity after it appeared Anderson was fouled when trapped, and then the officials ruled the ball was last touched by Anderson before going out of bounds when it looked like a UCLA player touched it last.

"We're pleased we have an opportunity to play UCLA again," Bears coach Ben Braun said. "It's really about an opportunity to go back and play against the best team in your league.

"It's not about settling anything," Braun added with a smile. "These guys (Anderson and Christopher) might say differently."

The Bears upset the Bruins 76-69 in overtime in a second-round game of the Pac-10 tournament last year at Staples Center.

Jerome Randle added 14 points for the Bears, who snapped a five-game losing streak.

Quincy Pondexter led eighth-seeded Washington (16-16) with 23 points and nine rebounds. Ryan Appleby added 12 points and Artem Wallace had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies.

Washington star Jon Brockman, averaging a team-leading 17.6 points and a conference-leading 11.5 rebounds, missed his first game of the season because of a sprained left ankle.

The Bears led 75-68 before Pondexter scored six straight points to move Washington within one point with 3:35 remaining.

The Huskies got within one point two more times before the Bears took the ball out of bounds with 43 seconds remaining and two seconds left on the shot clock. After taking a timeout, they got the ball to Anderson, who made a 3-pointer from the right wing as the shot clock ran out.

"We planned for me to come off a screen and I guess I had an opening for a second," said Anderson, the Pac-10's leading scorer with a 21.5-point average. "We deserved a close win like that, especially after the UCLA game."

After Appleby missed a 3-pointer, Anderson made a foul shot with 21.3 seconds left to give the Bears an 83-78 lead. Washington's Venoy Overton made a 3-pointer to cut Cal's lead to two points before Eric Vierneisel's foul shot with six seconds left completed the scoring. Overton's 3-pointer as time expired wasn't close.

After a scoreless first half, Appleby made three 3-pointers in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half to spark a 13-4 run that gave the Huskies a 53-41 lead - largest of the game for either team.

That seemed to awaken the Bears. With Anderson scoring 11 points and Christopher adding six, Cal outscored Washington 23-4 for a 64-57 lead.

Neither team led by more than five points in the last five minutes.

"They're always close. They've played like that all year," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said of the Bears.

Regarding Brockman's absence, Romar said: "Our guys bonded together and worked hard. Our guys did not come into the game feeling sorry for themselves."

Pondexter, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound sophomore averaging 9.5 points and 4.6 rebounds, did a good job compensating for the absence of Brockman, a 6-7, 255-pound junior.



"My teammates did a great job of finding me in positions I could score," Pondexter said. "I just feel bad we came up short."

Washington shot 45.3 percent to Cal's 40 percent, and the Bears outrebounded the Huskies 43-34. Cal had 19 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points, and Romar called that the deciding factor in the game.

The game figured to be close, since the teams split during the regular season with Cal winning by four points and Washington by three.



CALIFORNIA (16-14)

Boykin 3-8 0-1 7, Vierneisel 2-6 3-4 8, Anderson 6-15 7-10 22, Randle 4-10 4-4 14, Christopher 10-20 5-6 25, Knezevic 0-0 0-0 0, Wilkes 0-0 0-0 0, Hardin 1-4 5-8 7, Kamp 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 26-65 25-35 84.

WASHINGTON (16-16)

Pondexter 9-16 4-4 23, Wallace 5-7 1-4 11, Overton 1-6 5-6 8, Morris 3-6 2-2 9, Appleby 4-12 0-0 12, Smith 4-5 0-2 8, Dentmon 1-5 2-2 5, Bryan-Amaning 1-3 0-0 2, Holiday 1-2 1-3 3, Wolfinger 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 15-23 81.

Halftime-Washington 40-38. 3-Point Goals-California 7-18 (Anderson 3-5, Randle 2-5, Boykin 1-2, Vierneisel 1-3, Christopher 0-3), Washington 8-23 (Appleby 4-10, Morris 1-2, Dentmon 1-2, Overton 1-3, Pondexter 1-3, Smith 0-1, Wolfinger 0-2). Fouled Out-Boykin. Rebounds-California 43 (Anderson 16), Washington 34 (Pondexter, Wallace 9). Assists-California 13 (Vierneisel 4), Washington 9 (Dentmon 3). Total Fouls-California 18, Washington 24. A-NA.