Cal Basketball: Joel Brown's Late 3-Pointers Help Propel Golden Bears Past Seattle

A year ago, Joel Brown may not have even attempted the two 3-pointers he made Tuesday that helped put Cal over the top against Seattle.

But the sophomore point guard from Toronto is developing confidence in his shot, and it paid off in a 70-65 victory over a Redhawks' team that led for much of the afternoon at Haas Pavilion.

Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the shot clock in the final 3 1/2 minutes and the Bears (5-4) won their third straight game in their final non-conference outing of the season.

Cal took the lead for good when Brown nailed a 3-point shot just before the shot clock expired, putting Cal up 60-59 with 3:31 left.

He hit another 3-pointer with 2:01 left, pushing the lead to 63-59.

"Joel has really improved as a shooter. He just needs to prove it to himself in games," Cal coach Mark Fox said. "Those were huge baskets for us, no question about it."

A jumper and two free throws by Makale Foreman stretched the lead to 67-59 with 30 seconds left before six late points by Seattle’s Riley Grigsby made the Bears sweat a bit.

Two free throws by Foreman with 2.1 seconds left iced the Cal win.

Brown shot just 31 percent (8-for-26) from the 3-point arc as a freshman last season. But while he doesn't often shoot from deep, he is 5-for-10 on three this season, an even 50 percent.

Brown said working in practice with shooters such as Bradley, Ryan Betley and Makale Foreman has forced him to keep up. "My confidence has gone up and I'm feeling more comfortable shooting," he said.

He talks more about his improved shooting in this video:

The Bears played a second straight game without leading scorer Matt Bradley (ankle) and starting forward Grant Anticevich (appendectomy).

Fox said he doesn't have a timetable for when the Bears might get back Anticevich, who underwent emergency surgery last Friday in the early morning hours. It won't be in time for Cal's next game, New Year's Eve at Oregon.

He said he was "tempted" to play Bradley, who warmed up with the team and spent portions of the game campaigning with his coaches to get on the floor. But Fox thought Cal could win without him and Bradley hasn't practiced for several days on the ankle he sprained nine days before against USF.

Ryan Betley led the Bears with 17 points, Brown equaled his career high with 12 and Kuany Kuany provided a lot with 11 points to equal his career best before leaving the game for a stretch after turning his ankle. Andre Kelly had eight points and 11 rebounds.

Seattle, which led by as many as 11 points midway through the first half, got 20 points from Grigsby, the son of former Cal standout Al Grigsby. Point guard Darrion Trammell had 15 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals and forward Emeka Udenyi, a former De La Salle High star, had 14 points.

Cal never led in the first half and was down 22-11 at one point. The Bears had early difficulties with turnovers and allowing the Redhawks to transform offensive rebounds into second-chance points.

Offensively, they struggled with a mix of lineups as they continue to adjust to playing without two starters.

In the video below, Fox talks about the Bears' slow start against Seattle:

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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