Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009

Cal wins in triple overtime

SEATTLE -- Cal's basketball revival is now reaching historical, even biblical proportions.

At least that's what Mike Montgomery, who is back in the Pac-10 and has the Bears growling again, thought of this wild fight for the early conference lead.

"That was Lazarus. We rose from the dead," the veteran coach said after Cal rallied in the second half -- plus in each of three overtimes -- to beat Washington 88-85 on Saturday.

Patrick Christopher scored a career-high 27 points and had 11 rebounds, including the clinchers in the final overtime, for the Bears.

Jerome Randle scored 23 points, 19 after halftime, for Cal before fouling out in the second overtime. Then, Theo Robertson gave the Bears (15-2, 4-0 Pac-10) their first lead since 1-0 with a 3-point play to make it 86-85 with 15 seconds remaining.

Cal, which fired coach Ben Braun after a 17-16 season and ninth-place finish in the Pac-10 last spring, ran into its locker room joyously screaming over its ninth win in a row. The Bears are off to their best start since Pete Newell's 1959-60 team went 28-2 and lost in the championship game of the NCAA tournament to Ohio State.

It was Cal's first three-overtime game since Feb. 10, 1977, when the Bears needed five overtimes to beat Oregon.

"Man, it's tough to talk about that game because it was so crazy," Christopher said after he played a game-high 53 minutes -- many of them with four fouls -- tied his career high in rebounds and had his fourth consecutive 20-point game. "That was the toughest game I've played in -- and the most fun I've had in a game."

Justin Dentmon scored 24 points, 15 in the last two overtimes, and Isaiah Thomas had 22 for Washington (11-4, 2-1), which saw its nine-game winning streak end because of inexcusable fouls in its longest game since 1984.

Freshman D.J. Seeley had an impact in the game. The Modesto Christian High graduate, averaging 1.7 points per game, grabbed an offensive rebound with 3 seconds left and launched a put-back. The shot went in as he was fouled, and Seeley made the tying free throw with 1.3 seconds left to force the third overtime.

SAN JOSE STATE 71, FRESNO STATE 68 (OT), at Fresno -- C.J. Webster scored a career-high 23 points, including the go-ahead free throws in overtime, to help the Spartans (7-7, 1-3 Western Athletic Conference) outlast the Bulldogs (7-9, 0-2). Ripon High graduate Justin Graham had 11 points for San Jose State.

WASHINGTON STATE 55, STANFORD 54, at Pullman, Wash. -- Anthony Goods scored 15 points for the Cardinal, but his last-second attempt from 30 feet fell short as time expired in a loss to the Cougars.

Lawrence Hill also scored 15 points for Stanford (11-3, 1-3 Pac-10). Taylor Rochestie hit a running 10-footer with 17 seconds left to help Washington State (9-6, 1-2 Pac-10) earn the win.

PACIFIC 76, UC RIVERSIDE 53, at Stockton -- Chad Troyer scored a season-high 23 points to lead the Tigers (9-5, 2-1 Big West) past the Highlanders (9-6, 2-2). Troyer made seven 3-pointers to spark the rout, including three during a 17-0 run that turned a tie game into a 47-30 Pacific advantage early in the second half.