Randle helps Montgomery stay undefeated at Cal

November 25, 12:01 AMCal Bears ExaminerRob Calonge

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California's Jerome Randle, left, drives past
North Carolina A&T's Thomas Coleman, center,
and Julian McClurkin in the first half of an
NCAA college basketball game in Berkeley, Ca.,
Monday, Nov. 24, 2008.
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Every game that Mike Montgomery has coached for the Bears, the end result has been acceptable.  But that hasn't stopped the Bears' coach from asking for more.  While their stats continue to be more remarkable, Montgomery is certain that the honeymoon is about to be tested soon when the Bears begin to face a higher level of competition.

Jerome Randle did his best to limit his coaches' demands with 4-5 three-point shooting and 20 points for the night as he led the Bears to an easy 82-47 victory over North Carolina A&T Monday night.  His 20 points led all scorers on the evening.

Montgomery has been preaching defense since before the start of the season and his team seems to be responding.  NC A&T came into the game averaging nearly 40 rebounds, five blocks, and 10 steals per game, but weren't able to come close to that level of play at Haas Pavilion.  It was Cal that looked like the defensive team while grabbing 38 rebounds, six steals, five blocked shots, and forced 19 turnovers.  NC A&T was able to get 28 rebounds, but only one steal and four blocks, well below their season average.

For the game, Cal held the Aggies to 33.3% shooting (19-57) and only 11.8% from beyond the three-point line (2-17).  Jamal Boykin led the Bears with seven rebounds and Jordan Wilkes (2 blocks) combined with Max Zhang (3 blocks) for all of the Bears' shot-blocking.

Cal went into the locker room after the first half with a 40-23 lead and ended up emptying the bench by the end of the game.  For the game, 14 of Cal's 15 players on the roster got time on the floor.  Along with Randle, two other players scored in double figures - Patrick Christopher (10 pts) and Omandi Amoke (11 pts).

We didn't shoot the ball tonight as well as we have, which I suppose is natural. You can't ever expect to shoot it like we have. But we moved the ball, generally speaking. We're not turning the ball over a lot.
- Montgomery on Cal's shooting

The Bears came into the game with the third highest field goal percentage (56.6%) and top three point percentage (59.0%) in the nation.  Even though they didn't live up to those averages, their game percentages were still pretty good at 48.3% field goal shooting and 58.3% from the three-point line.

After the game, Montgomery made sure to temper his criticism.  When asked about the improvement the team has made since their first practice, he said:

Basketball's such an imperfect game - there's always so many things that you can always find - I think they're really trying on defense, though. We have not really faced a team that has made us pay for our mistakes, and that's going to change here pretty quickly. [But] we've got some guys that are working at it. In order to prepare for the Pac-10, we're going to have to play teams that, when you make a mistake, they make you pay. Sometimes now, you don't really even know you're making a mistake.

Montgomery was more complimentary of Randle.  When asked about his impressions of the 5'10" junior point guard he didn't hold back:

I love him. I think he's probably one of the better point guards in the country. He does a great job. I told my guards it's someone they need to emulate. He leads the team, he's in control of the situation, he shoots it selectively but he shoots it very well.

Cal is going to need him for their next game.  They won't be playing in the comfort of their home court and they'll be facing the toughest test season-to-date.  The Bears will be traveling to Las Vegas to meet up with UNLV at the Thomas and Mack Arena on Friday the 28th at 5pm PST.

Here are the stats from Monday night's game:

10:30 PM ET, November 24, 2008
Haas Pavilion
Berkeley, CA

Technicals:
None
Officials:
Bruce Hicks ,Milt Stowe ,Hughes Suffren
Attendance:
6,689