Lobos Make it Close, But Bears Eek Out First-Round Win

In his first year playing for the Cal men's basketball team, Duke transfer Jamal Boykin had expressed his eagerness to finally get a chance to contribute in postseason play.

After all, two years ago, Boykin had only played a few minutes in the Blue Devils' first-round NCAA Tournament game.

He recorded 10 points in last night's first-round National Invitation Tournament matchup between the No. 4-seeded Bears and No. 5-seed New Mexico, but none were more important than the last two.

His two free throws with 3.7 seconds left on the clock broke the tie and ultimately sealed Cal's 68-66 victory over the Lobos at Haas Pavilion.

With the win, Cal (17-15) moves on to face No. 1-seed and 2007 NCAA Tournament runner-up Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio on Monday at 4 p.m.

"I knew time was running out," Boykin said on the play that got him to the foul line. "I took it to the hole. I'm happy I got fouled. We may have gone into overtime."

The game may have gone into overtime regardless. After Boykin's free throws gave Cal a two-point lead, New Mexico's go-to player J.R. Giddens, guarded by Bears defensive stopper Patrick Christopher, caught the inbounds pass at the halfcourt line and dribbled to the top of the key.

Christopher put his hand up just as Giddens let fly a long-range jumper just before the clock struck zero. The crowd held its breath as the shot rimmed out at the sound of the buzzer.

"(The shot) felt good," Giddens said. "I got (Christopher) going back, crossed over, felt like I got a clean look, followed through.

"Wish I could've made it. California got the best of us tonight."

While the Bears led by as many as 13 points and never trailed in the second half, the Lobos (24-9) kept it close down the stretch. Much of that can be attributed to the stellar play of Giddens.

The senior forward-a legitimate NBA prospect-contributed six points during a crucial 13-1 Lobos run that brought them back from a 37-24 first-half deficit. He also single-handedly kept his team in the game in the clutch.

With 2:05 left to play, Giddens converted a three-point play to cut Cal's lead to two. Then, coming out of a timeout with 1:03 remaining, he drained a hook shot in the lane to tie the score at 66-66.

Giddens finished the game with 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting, with 13 rebounds and six assists.

"He's as difficult a matchup as we've faced," Bears coach Ben Braun said. "Everyone took turns trying to slow him down."

Center DeVon Hardin took a stab at the defensive assignment for much of the game and gave Giddens problems. But with 6:36 left in the then-two-point game, Giddens drew Hardin's fifth foul and knocked down the two free throws to boot.

"We wanted Patrick to start out (guarding Giddens) but we thought DeVon had the range and the quickness," Braun said. "He took the challenge and at least slowed Giddens down."

But Giddens' effort was not enough to overcome solid play from several Cal players. Ryan Anderson led the Bears with 26 points on 8-for-14 shooting, while senior Eric Vierneisel contributed a career-high eight assists.

Cal also locked down on defense, holding New Mexico to 35.5 percent shooting in the first half while going on a 14-2 run of their own.

"If you're going to keep teams at 35 percent, you're going to have opportunities to throw it off the backboard and dunk," Braun said, referring to a Bears' first-half fastbreak play in which Jerome Randle passed the ball off the backboard to Christopher for the emphatic dunk. "He and Patrick have worked on that many a time when coach wasn't around."

Tags: NIT