The California Golden Bears looked in control for most of their contest with the USC Trojans. USC's offense was unproductive and couldn't find any scoring room after scoring an early eight points in the opening minutes on easy baskets, finishing with only 19 first half points. Cal worked their way behind Jorge Gutierrez and Harper Kamp, both of whom helped put the Bears up by double-digits for most of the game.
But then USC rallied, and their always impressive defense started locking down the Cal offense. The Bears played very disappointing basketball down the stretch, and the Trojans managed to bring it back down to a one-point game with a few seconds left. But with USC about to get the basketball back trailing by only one with seconds left, Allen Crabbe (who had a quiet night) was fouled on a three point shot as the shot clock was about to expire. Crabbe nailed all three shots to ice the victory.
Gutierrez led the Bears with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Kamp and Crabbe both finished with 12 points each. Cal will probably need a much better effort if they plan on beating UCLA on New Year's Eve.
To discuss Cal basketball, head to the California Golden Blogs. To discuss USC basketball, check out Conquest Chronicles.