Cal Shreds Boston College's Defense in 86-75 Victory

Cal snapped a two-game losing streak and gave a boost to its NCAA tournament resume, leading wire to wire in a decisive 86-75 victory at Boston College on Saturday.

The Bears (18-8, 6-7 ACC), who entered the game averaging 78.7 points, became the first ACC team to match its scoring average against the defense-minded Eagles (9-16, 2-10). It was the most points BC has allowed in a non-overtime game all season.

Cal led by as many as 20 points in each half and allowed the home team within double digits for a total of 21 seconds in the second half.

Coming off a 107-100 double-overtime loss at Syracuse, Cal could not afford a hiccup against a team battling to qualify for the ACC tournament. The Bears came out with energy and confidence, hitting 14 of 29 attempts from 3-point range against an opponent that was second in the ACC in 3-point defense, allowing just 30 percent from deep.

Senior Chris Bell was 6 for 10 from deep and scored a game-high 22 points. “It felt good just to see the ball go in,” Bell said. “I’m trusting my teammates and trusting myself and just having confidence in myself.”

John Camden made 4 of 7 from 3-point range and had 15 points to go with nine rebounds. Dai Dai Ames added 15 points and four assists.

Point guard Justin Pippen, limited to 22 minutes due to foul trouble, had 12 points and four assists. Freshman TT Carr, Pippen’s understudy, had six points and four assists and was plus-13 in 20 minutes off the bench.

Cal coach Mark Madsen was pleased with Carr’s performance. “TT’s playing much more aggressively. He’s getting in the paint. He’s doing all the things a team needs to win,” Madsen said on his postgame radio show.

Bell said the Bears aren’t stressing over the pursuit of their first NCAA bid since 2016. “We just take it day by day,” he said in his postgame interview on the ACC Network. “We don’t listen to the rat poison. Just win games. Today we had BC, next we’ve got Stanford at home.”

The Bears return to Haas Pavilion to face rival the Cardinal next Saturday at 3 p.m. The game kicks off their final three-game homestand of the season.

The Bears played their sixth straight game without starting center Lee Dort (7.7 points, 8.3 rebounds) and improved to 3-3 without him. But they clearly miss the 6-foot-10 senior, getting outrebounded 35-25 and outscored 22-6 on second-chance points.

“”I said in the huddle, `Guys, we’re not going to win the game if we don’t rebound the ball,” Madsen said.

Without Dort as a deterrent in the paint, Cal’s past six opponents have shot 60 percent from within the 3-point arc.

None of it mattered in this one because the Bears were so efficient offensively, scoring exactly 43 points in each half and getting 3-point baskets from six different players. Cal converted 55.6 percent overall, its most accurate shooting performance in ACC play.

Bell made three 3-pointers in a 2 1/2-minute span to help spark the Bears to a 43-28 halftime lead. Cal shot 7 for 16 from deep on the opening period, with Camden also connecting twice from beyond the arc.

Cal led by as many as 20 points in the half, going up 43-23 on Camden’s 3-pointer with 1:49 left before intermission.

The Bears never trailed in the first half, shooting 53.6 percent, hitting all six of their free throws and outscoring BC 10-0 on points off turnovers.

The Eagles converted just 35.7 percent over the first 20 minutes, made 3 of 13 from deep and committed eight turnovers. “Our first-half defense was really good,” Madsen said.

BC missed nine of its first 10 shots, enabling the Bears to streak to a 15-4 lead. Ames scored eight of those 15 points.

NOTES: Sophomore forward Sammie Yeaney, a transfer from Grand Canyon who hadn’t played since suffering an injury early last season, made his Cal debut late in the first half and missed his first shot attempt from 3-point range in four minutes . . . BC starting guard Donald Hand (13.8 points) did not play due to a knee injury he suffered against Stanford on Wednesday.

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