Field Level Media
Feb 14, 2021
Matt Bradley had a career-high with 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Jalen Celestine scored a career-high 13, and the host Cal Bears beat the Colorado Buffaloes 71-62 in Berkley, Calif., on Saturday night.
Andre Kelly added 10 rebounds for the Bears, who snapped a seven-game losing streak.
McKinley Wright IV had 13 points and 3 assists and Eli Parquet scored 10 for Colorado (16-6, 10-5 Pac-12). Wright also had two rebounds to become the first men's player in conference history with at least 1,600 points, 600 assists and 600 rebounds in his career.
Cal (8-15, 3-13) went on a 12-4 run early in the second half to go up 48-42 and never trailed again. Parquet scored off of an offensive rebound and Wright's three-point play cut the Bears' lead to 50-49 with 10:45 remaining.
Cal missed nine straight field goals but still led a 53-49. Wright hit a layup and Ryan Betley ended the Bears' drought with a turnaround jumper to make it a four-point game again.
Bradley's mid-range shot made it 58-53 with 5:03 left, Colorado missed three straight shots and Grant Anticevich's bucket inside gave Cal a seven-point lead with 3:40 remaining.
Tristan da Silva made a layup out of a timeout to start five straight points for Colorado that cut the deficit to 60-58. Bradley and Wright traded a pair of free throws to keep it a two-point game and then Bradley hit a long 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to stretch the lead to 65-60.
D'Shawn Schwartz's 3-point attempt went in and out and Bradley hit two foul shots on the other end to seal it with 25 seconds left.
The lead changed hands 10 times in the first half, which was close throughout and with neither team leading by more than six points.
Colorado took its largest lead, 31-27, late in the first half. Bradley scored seven points in less than a minute to help the Bears lead 36-33 at intermission.
--Field Level Media