No. 12 California outlasts Murray State in Classic opener

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Midterms may have kept some students away from Haas Pavilion Monday night, but the crowd of 7,603 got a chance to see the #12 Golden Bears pass their first test of the season. California defeated Murray State 75-70 in a game that wasn't out of reach until the final seconds.

Cal started the game by trading baskets with the Racers of Murray State for the first eight minutes of the game. With 11:21 left in the first half, the Golden Bears took an 18-16 point lead which they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way, but not without a fight from the Racers. Cal went on a six-point run to close the first half and go into the locker room with a 34-26 lead.

Early in the second period, Cal went on an 11-point run to stretch their lead to 47-31 with 15 minutes left in the contest and with 9:26 to go, Cal would hold their largest lead of the night (18 pts), taking a 62-44 advantage. Murray State would furiously work to get back into the game, but never getting closer than six points--until the final two seconds of the game. In the last nine minutes, the Racers outscored the Bears 26-13, which was cause for some concern by Bears' head coach Mike Montgomery.

"We got up 18 twice, which was pretty good. The thing we would like not to do is give a lead like that back, which we did," said Montgomery after the game. "They made us work. They did a good job. They had a good game plan. They were very well prepared. We got up 18 a couple of times and had a pretty comfortable lead and we kind of lost our steam."

Naismith Award candidate Jerome Randle admitted Cal began the game flat and was quick to point out his unhappiness with his own performance. "I can say that I was not really pleased with my performance as a leader out there," said the senior point guard. "They jumped on us, so we just have to do a better job of just coming out and just setting the tone on defense."

Randle led all scorers with 18 points (4-12 FG, 0-1 3pt, 10-11 FT), and chipped in four assists, one rebound, and one steal. JUCO transfer, Markhuri Sanders-Frison, led the Bears with seven rebounds in his first official NCAA Div I game. Four Golden Bears finished with double-digits in scoring (Randle, Jamal Boykin 12 pts, Theo Robertson 14 pts, and Patrick Christopher 13 pts).

Part of the problem for Cal was Murray State's ability to take Patrick Christopher out of Randle's options for passes. Montgomery said that this year will be different for Cal's players--people know who they are. "These kids are going to have to learn how to play against other people's best athletes that have been told not to let them get anything. It's going to be an adjustment," said Montgomery.

Cal will next face Detroit on Wednesday, November 11, at Haas Pavilion as their second game of the 2k Sports Coaches vs Cancer Classic.

NOTES:

Starting lineup - Jerome Randle, Patrick Chrisopher, Theo Robertson, Jamal Boykin, Markhuri Sanders-Frison.
Harper Kamp was at the game in street clothes still having trouble with his knee.
Prior to the start of the game, a moment of silence was given for Cal HOF'er, Rupe Ricksen. Ricksen passed away recently and was an assistant on the 1959 NCAA championship team.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim was at the game watching his alma mater defeat his brother's team. Abdur-Rahim's brother, Amir, is an assistant with Murray State.
Freshman Brandon Smith got his first NCAA points with 10:26 left in the first half. The basket came when he made a quick move to the lane and drove in for the layup.
Jorge Gutierrez played only four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. He picked up two personal fouls in those four minutes.
With 7:59 left in the first half, Boykin was hit with his second personal foul. The foul was questionable, but mostly because of the great acting job on the part of the Murray State player. Boykin was about six feet from the basket and his defender actually looked to lean in and bump his chest up against Boykin's shoulder before flopping. There was a healthy amount of chanting the words that 'B.S.' stands for afterward.
Patrick Christopher got Cal's first slam dunk of the season at the 5:36 mark of the first half.
Max Zhang came in with 5:05 left in the first half. He finished the half getting one rebound and one blocked shot. He made more of an impact than that. He had one would-be steal that Murray State recovered and forced the Racers to change their shots due to his height. Murray State had positioned for the final shot of the first half and couldn't get a shot off because Zhang covered the shooter.
"At this point in the season, we're still trying to find our rhythm. That's what you learn early in the season, so right now we're just getting a feel for who we are as a team and building our identity." - Jamal Boykin