January 30, 1999

TUCSON, Ariz. - No. 13 Arizona raced out to a 10-point lead six minutes into the game and went on to cruise to a 91-74 victory over California Saturday at McKale Center.

The Wildcats improved to 14-3 overall and 7-2 in the Pac-10, while Cal lost its second straight game to fall to 12-7 and 3-6.

Arizona shot 57.1 percent from the floor - the highest for a Cal opponent this season - and put five players into double figures. Leading the way was senior guard Jason Terry, who finished with 26 points and five assists. Both center A.J. Brampley (16-11) and forward Michael Wright (15-12) posted double-doubles, as Arizona owned a 44-28 advantage on the boards.

The Wildcats put the game away early. After Cal scored four straight points to tie the score at 6-6, Arizona ran out to leads of 16-6 and 22-8 in the first 10 minutes. The Bears chopped the lead down to 38-31 on a Thomas Kilgore three-pointer, but the Wildcats raced ahead to a 51-33 advantage at the break.

In the second half, Arizona led by as many as 26 points at 91-65 in the closing minutes. The Bears did get to within 11 points at 73-62 with 8:15 left, but the Wildcats scored the next 10 points to put the game out of reach.

"Arizona played extremely well," Cal head coach Ben Braun said. "I think their confidence is at an all-time high right now. They took their confidence from the win over Stanford (Thursday) and used it early in the game.

"As for us, we need to play consistently. We can't be successful as a team unless we give up our bodies. I mean dive for loose balls and play better defense. It is the sacrifice you have to make. It is a team effort. When we play well, we win."

Geno Carlisle paced Cal with 17 points, while Kilgore finished with 16 and Mike Gill added 11. Junior guard Raymond King came off the bench for nine points, four assists and two steals in 22 minutes of action.