Cal rebounded from its ugly loss to Missouri to crush Denver on Saturday afternoon.
Player of the Game: Justin Cobbs
“Against Missouri I was forcing things,” the sophomore transfer said. “I wouldn’t say I was out of control.”
He controlled the game on Saturday. He only missed two of his nine shot attempts, and one was a missed put back of his first miss. He made every 3-pointer and free throw he attempted. Cobbs played 16 minutes off the bench in the first half, as Jorge Gutierrez got into early foul trouble.
“Justin went in, and it was a pretty seamless transition,” coach Mike Montgomery said.
Bounce back performance: Allen Crabbe
He opened the season with back-to-back 20-point showing. Then he failed to reach 10 in the following three contests. On Saturday, Crabbe looked like his former self, making 6-of-9 shots, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, to score 15 points.
Crabbe’s fingerprints were all over three straight Cal baskets late in the first half, especially with all-everything senior Jorge Gutierrez on the bench with two fouls. After grabbing the defensive rebound, Crabbe faked a 3-pointer, took a step in and hit the jumper off the backboard. The next time down, he did the same thing, though without the use of the glass. Then he fired a rocket to an open Harper Kamp under the basket for an easy two points to put the Bears up 12.
Stat of the Game: 9-of-14
The Bears made nine of their 14 threes in the contest, a drastic improvement from their 2-of-9 effort against Missouri.
“I guess it’s just the way our offense is,” Crabbe said. “In (Denver’s) zone, a lot of people get freed up. We have a lot of shooters on this team. The guys knocked their shots down today.”
Injury report: Richard Solomon
Solomon re-injured his right eye in the second half. It was scratched and his vision was blurry. On one play, the sophomore forward apparently did not see his man open under the basket. Montgomery pulled him after he gave up the easy layup, but Solomon could be seen telling his coach that he couldn’t see him. Solomon saw the optometrist, and the diagnosis is an abrasion.
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