Cal Basketball: Bears' Men Stay Winless After Loss to TCU; Women Win Third Straight
The Cal's men's basketball team stayed winless in six games after a 59-48 loss to TCU in the opening round of the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida.
The Bears trailed just 27-21 at halftime but could not overcome 19 turnovers or 23 points by Horned Frogs’ guard Mike Miles. Cal’s 48 points were a season low.
Cal (0-6) will play Saturday against Clemson (4-2), which lost 74-71 to 25th-ranked Iowa (5-0) in the other opening-round game. The consolation game is set for a 1 p.m. PST tipoff.
The Bears are one of just eight Division I teams that are still winless this season.
Coach Mark Fox said on his radio postgame show that he was pleased with his team’s performance at one end of the floor. “I thought we created the style of game tray we wanted to create,” he said. “Our defensive numbers at the end of the night . . . we hold them below 40 percent (shooting) and hold them below 20 percent from (3-point range).”
But the Bears sabotaged themselves with the 19 turnovers, which TCU turned into 17 points. “You just can’t win that way."
Fox said the plan Friday night was to feed and hydrate players then talk briefly about Clemson.
“Just watch a little film in the morning and come play,” he said. “It’s very little if any preparation. We’re not absorbing the preparation quite like we want to right now anyway, so maybe a quick turnaround won’t impact us as much as it would if we were playing a little smarter.”
Lars Thiemann and Devin Askew each scored 12 points to lead the Bears, who had three more turnovers than field goals. Cal had just six assists.
Cal women beat Loyola Marymount
The Bears got 16 points apiece from guards Jayda Curry and Kemery Martin to topple Loyola Marymount 68-49 in the opening round of the LMU Thanksgiving Classic in Los Angeles.
Cal has won three in a row, including the past two on the road, and improved to 4-1.
The Bears face Montana on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
The Bears led 44-36 after three quarters on Friday then blitzed the Lions with a 24-13 performance in the fourth period. Martin scored 11 of her 16 points in the final quarter, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Evelien Lutje-Schipholt contributed 14 points to the Cal victory,
Ten different Cal players had at least two rebounds as the Bears beat LMU 44-28 on the boards.
Cover photo of Lars Thiemann by Antonio Martin, KLC fotos
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
