Live Game Thread: Cal Suffers 4th Straight Defeat in Loss to Oregon
Cal suffered its fourth straight defeat, losing to Oregon 74-63 Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley in the Bears’ final regular-season game.
Cal (6-19, 3-17 Pac-12) finishes in last place in the Pac-12, while Oregon (16-5, 11-4) solidifies its bid to get an NCAA tournament berth.
LJ Figueroa collected a season-high 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Ducks, who have won seven of their past eight games. Eugene Omoruyi added 20 points, and Chris Duarte had 18.
Ryan Betley had 13 points and Andre Kelly scored 12 points for Cal. Matt Bradley was limited to 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting and also committed four turnovers.
Cal trailed by just one point with 17:24 left in the game, but Oregon took over from there and led by 19 points with 4:31 to go.
The Ducks shot 52.7% from the field for the game and committed eight turnovers.
(Cal coach Mark Fox provides postgame comments in the video above.)
Pregame: Cal comes into Saturday's game riding a three-game losing streak, including a 59-57 home loss to Oregon State on Thursday. The Bears began the day in last place in the Pac-12, but could finish tied for 11th with a win against Oregon. Washington, which began Saturday a game ahead of the Bears, lost to Arizona earlier on Saturday.
The Bears will open Pac-12 tournament play on March 10 in Las Vegas.
The Bears entered Saturday's game with a 6-18 record, including 3-16 in the Pac-12.
Oregon entered play Saturday with a 15-5 overall record and 10-4 in the Pac-12. The Ducks defeated the Bears eight times in a row heading into Saturday's game and that included an 82-69 victory over Cal back on Dec. 31 in Eugene, Oregon.
Oregon defeated Stanford 71-68 on Thursday. Stanford was without Oscar da Silva for that game.
The Ducks play three more games next week before starting play in the Pac-12 tournament. Oregon had a number of games postponed for virus-related reasons so the Ducks are trying to make up as many games as possible as they try to nail down a berth in the NCAA tournament. If NCAA tournament selections were made Saturday morning, the Ducks would probably be in the 68-team field.
Starting lineups:
Cal -- F Grant Anticevich, F Andre Kelly, G Matt Bradley, G Joel Brown, G Ryan Betley,
Oregon -- G Chris Duarte, F Eugene Omoruyi, G Will Richardson, F Eric Williams Jr., F LJ Figueroa
Game action:
17:01 left first half: Oregon makes 4 of its first 5 shots while Cal commits two early turnovers. Oregon 8, Cal 2.
15:45 first half: Grant Anticevich and Andre Kelly each has a field goal for Cal. Eugene Omoruyi has four points for the Ducks. Oregon 8, Cal 4.
11:54 first half: Matt Bradley is scoreless and misses a dunk. He is 0-for-3 from the field. Omoruyi has six points for Oregon. Cal's Jarred Hyder will go to the foul line for three shots after the timeout. Oregon 11, Cal 8.
7:23 first half: Bradley is 0-for-5 from the field and Cal is 4-for-18, including 0-for-4 on three-pointers. The Ducks are 8-for-15 from the floor. Oregon 18, Cal 10.
3:38 first half: Cal started 4-for-20 from the field before Jarred Hyder hit a three-pointer to beat the shot clock at the 5:18 mark. Oregon held an 11-point lead with 5:52 left, but Cal closed to within five on Ryan Betley's three-point shot. Bradley still has not scored. Oregon 25, Cal 20.
Halftime: Bradley gets his first points of the game with 2:51 left in the half. He turns it into a three-point play to reduce the Cal deficit to four points. Omoruyi dunks off an all-oop pass and converts a free throw that goes with it. Oregon 34, Cal 27.
Eugene Omoruyi is the game's leading scorer after one half with 11 points. Oregon's LJ Figueroa has 11 rebounds to go along with five points.
Matt Bradley finished the half with three points on 1-for-6 shooting and he missed both three-point attempts. Jarred Hyder is Cal's top scorer at halftime with seven points. Cal finished the half 11-for-28 (39.3%) from the field.
The Bears had just four first-half turnovers, which is a big deal against Oregon.
16:40 second half: Andre Kelly scores on back-to-back possessions to close the gap to three points. His second basket came off his own steal. Matt Bradley scores on a jumper to make it a one-point game. Cal fails to take the lead on its next possession and committed a turnover. Oregon 34, Cal 33.
15:13 second half: Chris Duarte nails a three-pointer to push the Oregon lead to four points, and an Oregon steal leads to a fast-break bucket for a six-point Ducks lead. Oregon 39, Cal 33.
12:28 second half: Chris Duarte hits three-point shots on consecutive possessions to push Oregon's lead to nine points, and a bucket by LJ Figueroa makes it an 11-point game. Oregon 49, Cal 38.
11:06 second half: Oregon has outscored Cal 10-0 and leads by 13. Oregon 51, Cal 38
7:41 second half: The Bears are letting the game get away from them. Oregon 61, Cal 45.
4:15 second half. Oregon ups its lead to 19 points before Matt Bradley hits two foul shots: Oregon 70, Cal 53.
3:13 second half: Cal makes a late run, and a Ryan Betley three-pointer cuts the lead to 12. Oregon 70, Cal 58.
Final: Oregon 74, Cal 63
.
Cover photo of Oregon's LJ Figueroa clamping down on Joel Brown is by Neville E Guard, USA TODAY Sports
.
Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport or going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport
