Cal Basketball: No Holiday Gifts in Bears' 12th Loss, Only an Injury to Devin Askew
In Cal’s 12th loss before Christmas, the Golden Bears weren’t gifted any French hens, turtle doves and even a partridge in a pear tree.
Just another injury and another defeat.
The Bears dropped to 0-12 on Sunday after a 71-62 loss at Santa Clara (11-3) in a game impacted by top scorer Devin Askew leaving with a right foot or ankle injury late in the first half.
Devin Askew before injuring his foot at Santa Clara.
Photo by CK Hicks, Cal Athletics
Askew, whose 18.2 scoring average entering the game was No. 2 in the Pac-12, wasn’t around for the game’s final 23 minutes and that certainly didn’t help a Cal team that needs every break it can get. He finished with four points and three assists in 14 minutes.
Coach Mark Fox said he wasn’t sure if Askew’s injury was to his foot or his ankle, and he didn’t have a timetable on when he might return. “All I know is he was out for the game,” Fox said.
The Bears’ final game before the holiday break is Wednesday at home against Texas-Arlington (4-7).
As they have most games during their worst-ever start to a season, the Bears competed hard. But they couldn’t overcome a nine-point deficit after a first half in which they shot 36 percent and couldn’t get defensive stops down the stretch when they battled to come back against a team projected to finish in the middle of the West Coast Conference standings.
Senior Joel Brown, the only point guard left standing, played aggressively and scored 13 points to go with six assists and three steals.
“Obviously without Devin . . . we have one healthy guard on the roster,” Fox says in the video at the top of this story. “That’s a lot of weight for Joel (Brown) to carry. I thought he did that fairly well.
“The problem is everyone around him has to adjust and play positions they’re not used to, and that’s a challenge for us.”
The Bears have played all season without two injured projected starters in the backcourt -- Jalen Celestine and DeJuan Clayton. Both of them were at one end of the bench for the game, joined finally by Askew.
Cal center Lars Thiemann added 10 points. Most other numbers weren’t encouraging.
Cal was outrebounded 36-24, gave up 11 second-chance points off 13 Santa Clara offensive rebounds, and 16 points off their 17 turnovers.
“It’s definitely hard, under the circumstances, we lose our leading scorer in Devin and a guy who creates different opportunities for others,” Brown says in the video above. “We played a great second half. We’ve just got to do better defensively. Our numbers defensively weren’t good enough for us to get the win.”
The Bears shot 54 percent in the second half but allowed the Broncos to make 50 percent, including 5 for 11 on 3’s.
Cal closed within four points at 46-42 when Brown converted a drive through the lane with 9:27 left. Santa Clara answered with a 7-0 run to go up by 11.
Two free throws by Sam Alajika, a forward who spent some time at shooting guard, made it 65-60 with 1:20 left. Another 7-0 burst by the Broncos put the game out of reach.
Sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski, a transfer from Illinois, had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Broncos, who won for the eighth time in nine games. Forward Parker Braun scored 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting, thanks in part to grabbing four offensive rebounds.
Cover photo of Cal guard Joel Brown by CK Hicks, Cal Athletics
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
