Cal Off to Its Best Start in 66 Years After Friday’s Win

Despite playing without starting point guard Justin Pippen and two key reserves Cal won its eighth straight game – the Golden Bears’ longest winning streak in 17 years – by beating Morgan State 97-50 Friday night in front of a crowd of 1,894 at Haas Pavilion.

The win improved Cal’s record to 11-1, its best record after 12 games since the 1959-60 Cal squad started 28-1 and reached the national championship game for the second straight year. (Cal, coached by Pete Newell, lost to Ohio State in the 1960 NCAA tournament finals.)

"I was just told that, and just for me I'm from here so it's a big thing for me just to see Call basketball doing good again, and obviously being on the team that's doing it," said Cal forward Chris Bell, who is from Concord, California, and led the Bears with 28 points on Friday. "I think we're super excited about it, but I don't think we're super excited; we want to keep pushing and worry about the next game."

Cal’s eight-game winning streak is the longest since Cal won nine in row during the 2008-09 season when Mike Montgomery was the Golden Bears’ head coach. Cal can match that streak by beating Columbia on Sunday afternoon at Haas.

Most of Cal’s wins this season have come against weaker opponents, the notable exception being the Golden Bears’ victory over nationally ranked UCLA earlier this month.

Morgan State (2-9) did not prove to be a problem for Cal, even though Pippen, Rytis Petraitis and D.J. Campbell were not available for the Bears on Friday.

Freshman T.T. Carr made his second start of the season in place of Pippen, and Carr finished with 20 points, eight assists, six rebounds, three steals and one turnover.

"T.T. Carr is blossoming," Cal head coach Mark Madsen said. "T.T. Carr is really progressing. "Eight assists, one turnover, three steals. He led us in offensive rebounding, and he has a knack for that. I really can't say enough about T.T. Carr -- the growth, the development. He's doing this as a true freshman. But we knew that. We knew that he was going to be able to step into big, tough environments and perform. And he's done that."

Bell led the way with those 28 points in 8-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-6 on three-pointers. John Camden added 20 points while also shooting 4-for-6 from long range for the Golden Bears, who shot 59.7% from the field and made 22 of 23 free throws. Cal's 97 points are the most points the Golden Bears have scored in a game this season.

Cal led by 27 points at halftime and was never challenged by overmatched Morgan State. Cal's pushed the margin to 39 points with 7:28 remaining in the second half and coasted home.

Cal dominated the first half, which ended with Cal holding a 50-23 lead. The 50 points were the most Cal has scored in the first half of a game this season.

The Bears shot 60.7% from the field in the first half and made 4-of-8 three-point shots.

Morgan State helped Cal get off to a strong start by missing nine of its first 10 shots. The Bears led by 12 points 10 minutes into the game and were never challenged.

Bell scored 13 first-half points for Cal, while Lee Dort added 12 on 5-for-6 shooting.

NOTES

---Cal starting point guard Justin Pippen as well as Rytis Petraitis and DJ Campbell sat out Friday’s game. Petraitis has missed five games this season. Pippen is expected back soon, but the prognosis for Petraitis remains unclear.

---Cal received 13 voting points in this week’s AP Top-25 poll. That would put the Bears’ ranking at No. 33, one spot ahead of Saint Mary’s. Cal did not receive any votes in this week’s coaches poll.

---Cal’s final nonconference game, on Sunday afternoon against Columbia at Haas Pavilion, might provide the Bears with a more significant challenge before they begin ACC play with a December 30 home game against nationally ranked Louisville.

Columbia is 9-2 and is coming off a triple-overtime road loss at Stony Brook in a game played on December 9. Columbia’s only other loss came against nationally ranked UConn.

However, the Lions were picked to finish last in the Ivy League in the preseason conference media poll.