The California Golden Bears will be happy to escape Oregon with a sweep of both teams. The victory over the Oregon State Ducks pretty much came after everything went right in the second half. As for the Oregon St. Beavers...well, let's just say they're not a very good basketball team.
Oregon St. came out on FIRE, putting up 30 points in the first 10 minutes. They would be limited to 41 points for the next 30. Still, OSU (one of the worst three point shooting teams in the country) nailed nine treys, four coming courtesy of Ahmad Starks, who led the Beavers with 18 points. But OSU could only nail shots for so long, and their gambling defense (12 steals in all) eventually bit back when Cal got easy bucket after easy bucket in the second half.
With Jorge Gutierrez looking spent offensively after playing three games in less than a week (six turnovers in all and only four field goals, although he did chip in nine assists, four steals and hit five free throws), Allen Crabbe was more than happy to shoulder the load. Crabbe nailed six three pointers and scored 26 points to lead all scorers, and helped the Bears overcome their SECOND 14 point deficit in as many games to mount yet another big comeback and simply wearing out an outmanned and outgunned Beaver unit. Harper Kamp and Markhuri Sanders-Frison combined for 28 points and 8 rebounds, Brandon Smith chipped in 9 points and 8 assists, and Richard Solomon came off the bench to add a crucial 8 points, 5 rebounds, and a blocked shot.
There was plenty of chippy play in a game that took forever to finish. Kamp got shoved by Jared Cunningham after Cunningham thought Kamp had cheap-shotted him when it just looked more like a size issue (Kamp is giving up around five-six inches and 40 pounds to the athletic but diminutive Beaver star). Brandon Smith stuck his chest into Calvin Haynes, leading to retaliation and plenty of smack talk on both sides (Sanders-Frison and Joe Burton also picked up Ts in the altercation).
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