The California Golden Bears are usually a pretty good offensive team, but they were off on Thursday night at home against the Colorado Buffaloes. Cal's three top scorers all had off nights. Jorge Gutierrez shot 2 of 18 from the field, Allen Crabbe went 2 for 9, Justin Cobbs 3 for 9.
And yet they won. It wasn't easy, but Cal managed to take a narrow lead with a few minutes left in the second half and do just enough to win down the stretch. Harper Kamp had one of his strongest efforts of the season, putting up 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. He was the engine that could for Cal offensively, and it was enough to offset the struggles by the Golden Bear guards.
Cal shot 35% from the field, but their defense proved to be even better than Colorado's, holding the Buffs to 32% shooting and almost all the Colorado players. Cal improves to 4-1 in Pac-12 play, in a tie in first place with cross-Bay rivals Stanford.
To discuss Cal basketball, go to the California Golden Blogs. To talk about Colorado basketball, go to Ralphie Report.