Cal v. Sacramento State Basketball: The Bears Shoo Away the Pesky Hornets, 83-77

Jeremiah Wilkinson continues to shine, and a couple video clips from today's victory over Sacramento State.

Jeremiah Wilkinson with the breakaway slam after the alley-oop assist from Rytis Petraitis. Photo courtesy Rob Hwang.

The Sacramento State Hornets played Cal even for the first 10 minutes of the game. A Cal 7-0 streak at the midway point of the first half extended Cal’s lead to 9 points, 27-18. The lead would fluctuate between 6 and 12 points for the rest of the half. Cal led 40-33 at the break. It was a balanced attack for the Bears, with five different players scoring between 5 and 9 points.

Cal was held without a FG for a 6 minute stretch spanning the halftime break. On defense, Cal was losing track of Hornets F Jacob Holt. He had 2 slam dunks all by himself to start the second half, as Sacramento closed to within three, 40-37. The Hornets continued to shoot light-out, and took a 1-point lead after a basket and free throw from Julian Vaughns, 46-45 in favor of the Hornets.

Back-to-back corner 3’s from Rytis Petraitis and Jeremiah Wilkinson put Cal back ahead, 51-47. The Hornets were committing over a foul a minute as Cal continued to attack the lane. By the 11-minute mark, Cal was in the double bonus for the rest of the game. the Bears went on a 16-8 scoring run to push their lead to an even dozen, 67-55 with 8 minutes left.

Cal’s lead stayed in the 10-12 point range until the last minute of the game. The Bears led 80-70 with 2 minutes left. To burn time, the Bears went two consecutive series without a shot, going all the way until the shot clock horn went off. An EJ Neal free throw closed the gap to 8. Mady Sissoko was called for a technical foul with 28 seconds left, arguing a foul call. The Hornets would sink 3-of-4 free throws and close the gap to 80-75. Two free throws from Wilkinson and one from Joshua Ola-Joseph gave the Bears enough of a cushion, and Cal held on for the 83-77 win. Andrej Stojakovic had 20 points (11 from the free throw line) and Jeremiah Wilkinson added 16.

It was a disjointed game all around for the Bears. Cal had only 12 assists to go with 13 turnovers. The Hornets were closing out on the perimeter shooters, sometimes sending multiple defenders flying toward the shooters. Cal shot 27% from 3-point range for the game. Cal’s repeated attacking of the lane paid off with 39 free throw attempts for the team.

Jacob Holt led the Hornets with 25 points and 8 rebounds.

A couple highlights from the game;

Jeremiah Wilkinson’s Fearlessness

Coach Madsen’s plan was to attack the lane this afternoon. More often than not it ended with a foul, as Andrej Stojakovic, Rytis Petraitis, and Wilkinson drew 23 (!) combined fouls as they dribble penetrated to the rim. On several occasions, Wilkinson had an impressive finishing move to get the basket(and in the case below, a foul for a 3-point play).

Wilkinson is almost reckless at times, and had 2 turnovers on similar plays in the first half. He is, after all, a true freshman. But he attacks with such confidence and has an extra gear that is impressive. We’ve talked about how this team does not have an obvious finisher like Tyson was last year. If you need a basket at the end of the game, Stojakovic is the most likely choice right now. However, I would not have an issue if the last play is diagrammed for Wilkinson.

Welcome to Cal, Spencer Mahoney!

Prior to today, Spencer Mahoney totaled 8 playing minutes split across two games. With the injuries to Blacksher, Omot and Campbell, Mahoney was called into heavier minutes. He entered the game at the 14-minute mark of the first half, and collected 3 rebounds during that half.

Mahoney is a redshirt freshman transfer from Washington State. He played at four different high schools, and redshirted last year in Pullman. Today was his first major minutes at the collegiate level. He scored all 7 of his points between the 9-minute and the 4-minute mark of the second half, helping Cal maintain a solid lead and providing a spark when Cal needed one. In 13 minutes of playing time, Mahoney totaled 7 points and 5 rebounds, and finished with a team high +17 point differential.

In his postgame press comments, Mahoney said;

“The coaches always talk about strength in numbers, so that’s just been our mantra…so I always had the next man up mentality to just get in there and do what I do.”

I expect we’ll see more of Mahoney as the season progresses.

How to Beat a Zone

I really appreciated the execution on this next sequence. The Hornets are playing an extended 1-3-1 zone with the goal of limiting outside shots and slowing Cal down.

Zone defense is focused on controlling the flow and preventing penetration from the outside to the interior. The best way to beat a zone is to find the holes in the spacing. Usually, this takes the form of high-percentage outside shots since there is not much direct pressure on the shooter. Another way is to be patient and find and exploit the holes in the defense.

Keep an eye on Joshua Ola-Joseph in the upper corner and Mady Sissoko at the free throw line.

Christian Tucker and Andrej Stojakovic display patience at the outset, not forcing any action. JOJ finds a soft spot at the free throw line, and a couple defenders collapse on him. The lower corner defender is forced into double duty between Stojakovic and Sissoko. Mady executes a quick shift to the basket and JOJ delivers the soft pass up high for the easy Sissoko slam. It’s good patience all around to take what the defense give them. It’s even better execution.

---

Today’s game was Cal’s second game of the Cal Classic, a 4-team round robin event featuring Cal, Air Force, Sacramento State, and the Mercyhurst Lakers. The Golden Bears will conclude the Classic on Wednesday night when they take on Mercyhurst at 7pm in Haas Pavilion.