Cal-Arizona Basketball Live Game Thread: Bears Lose 4th Straight Game

Matt Bradley leads Cal scoring, but does not get much help in loss to Arizona

Cal lost its fourth straight game in a 71-50 loss to Arizona in Tucson on Saturday afternoon, and the Bears were never in the game.

Cal trailed by as many as 29 points in the second half, as the Bears had their lowest scoring output of the season. The previous low was 56 points against UCLA.

Matt Bradley scored 21 points for the Bears and was 5-for-6 on three-point shots. But the rest of the Cal team was just 2-for-16 on three-point attempts.

Arizona (13-4, 7-4 Pac-12) has defeated Cal (7-12, 2010 Pac-12) nine times in a row. James Akinjo had 20 points and eight assists for the Wildcats.

Pregame: Cal came into the game on a three-game losing streak, including a 72-68 loss to Arizona State on Thursday. The Bears lost their last eight previous games against Arizona and had not defeated the Wildcats at Arizona's McKale Center since 2013, a run of six straight Cal losses there.

Arizona had its three-game winning streak halted by Stanford on Thursday.

Cal began the day with a 7-11 record, including 2-9 in the Pac-12, which left the Bears in last place.  Arizona entered the game with a 12-4 mark, 6-4 in the Pac-12. That put the Wildcats in sixth place in th conference before Saturday's action.

Matt Bradley scored 26 points in Thursday's loss to Arizona State and he entered the game against Arizona as Cal's leading scorer at 17.9 points per game. Cal's Andre Kelly had 16 points and career-high 13 rebounds against the Sun Devils.

James Akinjo began the game at Arizona's leading scorer at 14.5 point per game, and he also led the Wildcats in assists at 5.6 per contest.

Cal starting lineup -- G Matt Bradley, F Andre Kelly, F Grant Anticevich, G Joel Brown, G Ryan Betley

Arizona starting lineup -- G Jame Akinjo, F Azuolas Tubelis, C Christian Koloko, G Terrell Brown Jr., G Bennedict Mathurin

GAME ACTION

15:54 left in first half: Cal has yet to get on the scoreboard, having committed four turnovers and going 0-for-2 from the field and 0-for-2 from the foul line. Arizona is just 1-for-5 from the field, its one field goal being a three-pointer by James Akinjo. Arizona 4, Cal 0

12:37 first half: Cal went scoreless for the first 5:28 of the game. Matt Bradley ended the drought with a bucket at the 14:32 mark. Arizona 10, Cal 4.

11:53 first half: Cal is 1-for-7 from the field with six turnovers. A three-pointer by Bennedict Mathurin puts Arizona ahead by nine. Arizona 13, Cal 4.

9:38 first half: Matt Bradley makes a long three-pointer to beat the shot clock, but the Bears make little headway. Cal is 2-for-10 from the field. Arizona 19, Cal 7.

7:46 first half: Arizona increases its lead to 14 points before Ryan Betley scores from close range. Cal was 2-for-12 from the field before that basket. Arizona is 9-for-17 from the floor. Arizona 21, Cal 9

3:37 first half: Arizona pushed its lead to 16 points on a three-pointer by Azuolas Tubelis with 6:40 left in the half, but three-point shots by Betley and Bradley prevented a first-half blowout. Jordan Brown leads Arizona with eight points. Arizona 27, Cal 15

1:16 first half: Arizona increased its lead to 17 points, but a three-pointer by Bradley gets it back. Arizona 32, Cal 18.

Halftime: A layup by Cal's Joel Brown at the buzzer got the deficit down to 15. Arizona 37, Cal 22.

Bradley had 13 of Cal's 22 first-half points.  Arizona's largest lead in the first half was 17 points. Cal scored seven points in the final 1:35 of the half to make its halftime numbers a little more tolerable. Cal shot 33.3 percent (7-for-21) in the first half while Arizona shot 53.6 percent from the field. Cal committed nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes, and Arizona had just three turnovers. Seven players scored for Arizona, which was led by Jordan Brown's 11 points. Mathurin added eight point for the Wildcats. 

Bradley was 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 on three-pointers in the first half. The rest of the Cal team was 3-for-15 from the field and 1-for-8 on threes.

15:30 second half: Arizona takes a 19-point lead on a dunk by Mathurin at the 16:30 mark. Bradley has 16 points for the Bears and has ht 4-of-5 three-pointers. But he is getting little help. The Wildcats have made 55.6 percent of their shots for the game. Arizona 47, Cal 30.

12:18 second half: Arizona takes its biggest lead of the game when it goes up by 22 points with 13:37 remaining. Cal is 3-for-12 in the second half. Arizona 52, Cal 30.

9:46 second half: The Wildcats get the lead up to 24 points, and are shooting 55.8 percent from the field. Arizona 58, Cal 34

7:47 second half: Bradley has 18 points but the rest of the Bears are not productive. The Wildcats take their largest lead of the game -- 26 points. Arizona 62, Cal 36

5:18 second half: Arizona increases its lead to 29 points at one point and is cruising. Arizona 69. Cal 42

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Cover photo of Arizona coach Sean Miller by D. Ross Cameron, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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