Photo Credit: Kelley Cox / klcfotos via Cal Athletics
The sixth time is the charm for the California Golden Bears.
The Golden Bears (6-7, 1-5 Pac-12) earned their first Pac-12 conference-play win Saturday afternoon, defeating the Washington Huskies (1-9, 0-5 Pac-12), 84-78. With their loss, the Huskies are the only team in the conference to remain winless in league play.
Junior Andre Kelly led the Golden Bears with 22 points, connecting on 11 out of 13 attempts. Graduate transfers Ryan Betley and Makale Foreman scored 18 and 14 points, respectively.
California battled to take the lead in the second half of the game. A jumper from Betley with 8:55 remaining in the game tied the game at 59 and the home team did not let up.
The Golden Bears ended the game making five out of five their last field goal attempts, including a three-pointer from sophomore guard Joel Brown with 1:55 left in the game. He followed the score 25 seconds later with a fast-break score on a layup to extend the lead to 80 to 75.
The Huskies scored nearly three times as many points from second-chances as the Golden Bears, but the home side was able to keep a small edge in shooting 55.4% to 52% that proved to be pivotal in the end.
Well played, competitive game by both teams!! Go Bears!!
Liked the telecast with Monty and Roxy. Good win for the good guys.