Photo by Darren Yamashita, USA Today
Cal Basketball: Utah Wins it With a Parade of Late Free Throws, 76-75
Cal made seven of its final 10 field-goal attempts. Utah didn't even attempt a shot from the field over the final 4 minutes.
But Cal kept fouling and the Utes made just enough free throws down the stretch to take home a 76-75 victory over the Bears on Thursday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.
Cal (7-15, 2-13 Pac-12) lost for the seventh straight game. Utah (9-7, 6-6) avenged its loss to Cal back on Jan. 16 -- the Bears' most recent victory.
The Bears had a chance to tie with 0.7 seconds left after Matt Bradley converted a driving layup with 6.8 seconds left and the Utes turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play.
Bradley missed a 3-pointer but Andre Kelly rebounded and was fouled with 0.7 seconds left. Needing to make both free throws, Kelly missed the first and made the second, securing the win for Utah.
Bradley scored 20 points for the Bears, Grant Anticevich had 18, Kelly scored 17 and Makale Foreman had 12. Timmy Allen scored 18 to lead the Uts.
SECOND HALF
15:40 2ND H: Cal scored the first seven points of the second half -- a post-up move by Kelly, a 3-pointer by Anticevich and two free throws by Kelly -- to get within 42-39 after less than 2 minutes. Kelly now has 10 points and has not missed a shot: 4-for-4 on field goals, 2-for-2 on FTs. Utah 48, Cal 43.
11:18 2nd H: The Bears pulled even at 50-50 when Foreman hit a 3-pointer with 13:10 left, just moments after he sank a mid-range jumper. The Bears outscored Utah 18-8 in the opening 7 minutes of the half. But Cal hasn't scored on its past three possessions (turnovers on two of them) and Utah regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Riley Battin. Utah 53, Cal 50.
7:25 2nd H: Cal took a 57-55 lead when Bradley converted a right-handed drive and free with 5:58 left. Allen answered with a basket of his own to square things. Cal 57 Utah 57.
2:02 2nd H: Utah has outscored Cal 6-2 (all on free throws) over the last 90 seconds to take the lead. On the Utes' most recent possession, the Bears played good defense until fouling Martinez with 3 seconds left on the shot clock. He converted two. Utah 72, Cal 66.
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FIRST HALF
14:34 1st H: Back-to-back 3-pointers by Bradley and Brown give the Bears a 12-8 lead. Timmy Allen answers with a layup in traffic, cutting the margin in half. Cal shooting 5 for 8, Utah 4 for 7. Cal 12, Utah 10.
11:34 1st H: Cal's first two turnovers of the game have fueled back-to-back baskets by the Utes, who now lead. Kelly leads the Bears with six points on 3-for-3 shooting. Rest of the Bears are 3-for-9. Utah 17, Cal 16.
7:50 1st H: Turnover becoming a problem for the Bears. They had none through the first 7 minutes but four since then. Bradley has seven points for Cal, Both teams shooting above 50 percent and both have three 3-pointers. Utah 23, Cal 21.
3:12 1st H: Makale Foreman, who has been in a shooting slump and apparently also has dealt with a sore back recently, got into the game and hit his first two shots, including a long 3-pointer. The Bears are happy to see him after he played just two minutes against Stanford on Sunday. Both teams are shooting well - 56 percent. The Utes just took the lead back on a 3-pointer by Plummer. Utah 33, Cal 31.
HALFTIME: Utah 42, Cal 32. The final minutes of the first half were very familiar looking to Cal fans. The Bears led 31-30 after a 3-pointer by Foreman with 4:51. Cal then went the rest of the half without a field goal, shooting 0-for-5 with a turnover as the Utes outscored them 12-1 to close the period. The Bears shot 50 percent, so it was a good offensive performance. But once again, the Cal defense did not get it done. Utah shot 58 percent from the field, was 7-for-8 at the foul line, scored 13 points off Cal's six turnovers, outscored the Bears 9-2 on second-chance points and 16-6 in the paint.
Allen scored 14 points for Utah and Plummer had nine. Anticevich had eight points, Bradley seven and Kelly six for the Bears.
PREGAME
Maybe a weekday matinee is what the doctor ordered for the Cal basketball team.
The Golden Bears (7-14, 2-12 Pac-12) will attempt to snap a six-game losing skid Wednesday afternoon when they take on Utah (8-7, 5-6) at Haas Pavilion. Tipoff is 3 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
The Utes accommodated the Bears with their most recent victory, a 72-63 verdict at Salt Lake City on Jan. 16. It remains Cal’s lone road win this season.
But Cal may see a different Utah team today. The Utes have won three of their past four games, including a near-miraculous comeback from 19 points down to win at Colorado on Jan. 30. Senior guard Alfonso Plummer (13.5 points) scored 23 second-half points to spark the victory.
Utah’s best player is junior forward Timmy Allen (16.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists), who has averaged 22.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in four career games against the Bears.
Cal junior Matt Bradley is on a hot streak, averaging 21.5 points and shooting 54 percent from beyond the 3-point arc the past four games.
We’ll have starting lineups before tipoff, then will keep you posted with our in-game thread.
STARTING LINEUPS: Coach Mark Fox makes a lineup change, with freshman guard Jalen Celestine getting his first career start. Completing the starting five are point guard Joel Brown, guard Matt Bradley, forwards Andre Kelly and Grant Anticevich. Celestine is the 11th different Cal player to start a game this season.
Utah also has a change, with point guard Rylan Jones (4.9 points, 4.1 assists) sidelined by a right shoulder injury.
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Cover photo of Andre Kelly by Darren Yamashita, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
