HONOLULU (AP) — This time last year
Charlie Moore was in the midst of his senior season of high school.
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What a difference a year makes.
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Moore, a freshman point guard, scored 15 points to lead four players in double figures to help California pull away from Princeton 62-51 in the Pearl Harbor Invitational Tuesday.
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"Charlie stepped up. He stepped up and played well," California coach
Cuonzo Martin said. "He made plays, he made shots, he got to the rim."
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Moore shot 6 of 9 from the field and scored 10 points after halftime to help the Golden Bears (7-1) recover from a lackluster first half in which they shot 25 percent (8 of 32) from the field.
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"Coach told me to assert myself a little bit more on the offensive end in the second half and make sure we execute the offense. That's what we were struggling with in the first half," Moore said.
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California made up for it by shooting 66.7 percent after halftime.
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"We got off to a slow start to the game, but I thought our guys did a great job making adjustments," Martin said.
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Jabari Bird scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime and
Sam Singer and
Grant Mullins added 11 points apiece for the Golden Bears.
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Princeton took a 46-44 lead following Henry Caruso's 3-pointer from the left corner with 7:45 left to play, but California answered with an 11-1 run that was capped by a backdoor reverse layup by Bird off an assist from Moore.
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"I thought they made some really big plays down the stretch — about three or four big plays and we really struggled in that little window there and that was the difference in the game," Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said.
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Devin Cannady scored 16 points and Spencer Weisz added 10 for the Tigers (2-4).
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Princeton closed out the first half on a 4-0 run to take a 20-18 lead into halftime.
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There were 12 ties and 15 lead changes in the game.
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California dominated Princeton in both points in the paint (34-12) and bench scoring (24-7).
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BIG PICTURE
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California: The Golden Bears were a woeful 10 of 23 from the free-throw line. They made just 1 of 3 from the charity stripe in the first half and only 9 of 20 in the second. They entered the game averaging 67.5 percent for the season.
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Princeton: The Tigers came into the contest averaging 9.6 3-pointers made per game, but made just 1 of 11 attempts from behind the arc in the first half and finished 6 of 26 for the game.
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STAR WATCH
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California super sophomore
Ivan Rabb missed his first five shots from the field and didn't score his first points until the 18:57 mark of the second half. Rabb, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound forward, was averaging 19.8 points per game. He finished with a season-low six points, but had a game-high 11 rebounds.
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SALUTE THE TROOPS
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This is second consecutive year the Pearl Harbor Invitational is being held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and at historic Bloch Arena, which withstood the attacks of Dec. 7, 1941. Wednesday marks the 75th anniversary of that day.
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Uniformed service personnel from all four branches of the military were in attendance at the 2,500-seat, open air arena for Tuesday's doubleheader, which featured Seton Hall and Hawaii in the nightcap.
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"To see service men and women in the stands today in uniform and the colors come on the floor means a lot," Henderson said. "It's a little bit of a different kind of trip, but in a really special way. We love it. We're disappointed with the loss, but this was really meaningful for us."
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UP NEXT
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California will look to extend its win streak to six games when it takes on Seton Hall Wednesday.