No. 6 Duke Pulls Away From Cal in Front of Haas Pavilion Sellout

The outcome wasn’t what Cal wanted, but the Bears gave a glimpse of what’s possible, competing well much of the way before losing 71-56 to No. 6 Duke in front of a sellout at Haas Pavilion on Wednesday night.

Cal led for long stretches of the first half and trailed by just 3 points after two free throws by Lee Dort with 10:05 left.

The Blue Devils, playing at Haas for the first time, responded with a 12-1 burst to take charge at 62-48 with just under 7 minutes left.

“I thought we battled and fought for probably 30 to 32 minutes,” Cal coach Mark Madsen said.

“I thought we had a really good start,” senior John Camden added. “Definitely was proud of that. That’s been an emphasis. We came out with aggression, caused a couple turnovers. The challenge for us is can we do that for 40 minutes. I think it got away from us in the second half a little bit.”

The game drew 11,201 fans — now considered capacity for Haas — and Cal’s largest crowd since two years ago against USC when LeBron James showed up to watch son Bronny.

“It was absolutely as loud as could be,” Madsen said. “When we were going on our runs, you could feel the energy in the arena. I’m so grateful to all the fans who came out and made it an unbelievable atmosphere for us.”

Even Duke coach Jon Scheyer was impressed.

“Not many times do you get a chance to do something you haven’t done before. Coming here to play Cal, seeing the crowd, the environment was a great thing for our program,” he said. "A ton of respect for Mark and his team.”

The big names on hand for this one included new football coach Tosh Lupoi, who got a standing ovation while addressing fans during a timeout, Cal Chancellor Rich Lyons and Bears all-time scoring king Jerome Randle.

They watched the Bears (13-5, 1-4 ACC) go right at the Blue Devils (16-1, 5-0), forging leads of 7-3, 13-7 and 25-19.

But Duke never let the Bears take charge and used a 13-0 run to close the first half for a 37-30 lead. “That killed us,” Madsen said.

Cal got as close as two points in the second but foul trouble impacted several key players and the Blue Devils pulled away for their 27th win in their past 28 games against ACC opponents.

The Duke lead reached 66-52 when freshman forward Cameron Boozer scored on a fastbreak layup with 5:55 left.

The Bears shot just 32 percent in the second half, making only one of eight tries from the 3-point arc.

Cal guard Justin Pippen battles for a loose ball | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Senior center Dort had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Bears, John Camden scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, before fouling out, and Justin Pippen contributed 10 points and five steals.

But Pippen, Dai Dai Ames and Chris Bell — three of the Bears’ top scorers all season — combined to shoot just 7 for 34 from the field.

“They really have dynamic guards and offensively they really scare you,” Scheyer said. “Our guards did a really good job on defense.”

Boozer, the ACC scoring leader at 22.9 points per game and projected as a top-5 NBA draft pick, was held to four points in the first half, primarily thanks to Camden’s defensive work. But he came alive in the second half and finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Madsen praised Camden for his efforts, especially in the first half.

“John Camden did an excellent of just fighting Boozer, giving him different looks in the post,” Madsen said. “Late in the game, Boozer took over the game. That’s one of the top players in the country. He was dominant in the second half.”

Scheyer said Boozer’s consistency has been remarkable for a freshman.

John Camden, right, and Milos Ilic (8) double team Duke star Cameron Boozer. | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

“Probably was one of his worst first halves he’s had all year. You just knew he was going to respond,” Scheyer said. “He controlled the boards in the second half. His playmaking, his paint attacks . . . he’s just a special guy and he’s really mature with his approach.”

Sophomore wing Isaiah Evans added 17 for the Blue Devils.

Cal had the modest total of 11 turnovers, but Duke cashed them in for 20 points. The visitors also held a 44-30 rebounding edge, including 16 offensive rebounds. That helped them scored 42 points in the paint and outscored the Bears 17-2 on second chance points.

The Bears played well most of the first half, holding the lead for nearly 15 minutes and going up 30-24 lead when Camden hit a 3-pointer off a feed from DJ Campbell with 3:35 to play in the half.

But Duke scored the final 13 points of the half to zoom into a 37-30 lead before intermission. Evans did the heavy lifting, making two 3-pointers and scoring on a spin move in the lane for a dunk. He scored eight of his 12 first-half points in the final 1:28 of the period.

Cal returns to action Saturday at home against North Carolina. Tipoff is 1 p.m.

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