Insta-Recap: Cal Edges St. Thomas in a Thriller, 71-66
Welcome back Jalen Celestine. Introducing CrunchTime Cone.
In a see-saw game where the lead was never more than 4 for either side until the final 15 seconds, Cal outlasted the Saint Thomas Tommies 71-66 to kick off the Madsen era with a win.
Jalen Celestine returns after missing all of last year with a knee injury. He paced the Golden Bears with 21 points. Fardaws Aimaq had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Jalen Cone was ineffective for most of the game, but came alive when it mattered. All 10 of his points came with less than 10 minutes left in the game, including a few crucial free throws near the end.
Cal next plays this Friday at Haas Pavilion, hosting the Pacific Tigers at 8pm.
Even though there were maybe only 2,500 there, the crowd was engaged and alive, and loud in the last 5 minutes. Felt like a community again. The Tommies are very well coached. We need more help at the rim. Daws is pretty limited defensively. All in all I’m encouraged. But without Tyson though just scrappy is probably our ceiling.
So is that how basketball is supposed to be played? It's been so very long since I saw that from our team. Fast, hard, smart, fight, shooters. I can get used to this mighty fast. Go Bears!