Nov. 6, 2008

Box Score

BERKELEY - Theo Robertson scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the first half to lead California to a 91-70 victory over a scrappy Seattle Pacific team Thursday night in the Golden Bears' exhibition tune-up for the 2008-09 season.

Jerome Randle added 15 points and seven assists, while Jamal Boykin posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Cal.

Chris Banchero led Seattle Pacific with 13. The Falcons are a Division II team that advanced to the regional semifinals of their NCAA Tournament last March.

Robertson showed he was comfortable in his return to the court after a yearlong absence due to hip surgery, playing all but one minute of the first half as Cal entered the break leading 49-42 despite shooting over 62 percent from the floor. The junior forward watched the waning minutes from the bench after putting in a 10-14 FG, 8-8 FT, 4-rebound performance.

Cal delivered 20 assists from eight players on the evening, led by Randle's seven and four other Bears with multiple dishes.

A three-point play from Randle with 12:45 in the second half boosted Cal's lead to 68-52. Seattle Pacific climbed back to within 13 with 7:50 to play, but Boykin's fifth offensive rebound and ensuing free throws ratcheted the lead up to 17 and Cal never lost control.

Several new Bears made their debut in a high-energy effort that had players diving for loose balls and sharing the rebounding responsibilities. Omondi Amoke joined the action in the second half, grabbing 5 rebounds to go with his 4 points, as did freshman guard Jorge Gutierrez (6 points, 3 rebounds), redshirt-freshman center Max Zhang (1 point, 1 rebound) and freshman guard D.J. Seeley (2 points, 4 rebounds).

The Bears now prepare for their season-opener Saturday, Nov. 15, at home against Pacific. Tickets for the 5 p.m. tipoff are available at (800) GO BEARS or through the Tickets link at CalBears.com.

Cal Head Coach Mike Montgomery Postgame Quotes

On his team's performance:
"I think we've got some work to do to make the transition to a defensive-minded team, and that's not going to be easy. That's something that we will have to continue to work on and stress. We didn't do a good job at point of attack, and defensively, our roles broke down a little bit. But I think you probably would expect that after two and a half weeks of practice. But we have to mentally make the adjustment; we have to make it a priority. We have to understand that it's something that is going to pay dividends for us."

On Theo Robertson:
"I think having Theo out there gave us another wing that could score the ball. He obviously had a nice night. He had 27 points, so what I'm going to want from Theo is more rebounds. What I'm going to want from Theo is a shut-down defender."

On playing Seattle Pacific:
"I think this was a good game for us. I don't know how many teams will play that style of play, maybe Washington State a little bit. It is the Princeton stuff with the cuts and the open posts and the back cuts."