December 3, 1998

Box Score

OAKLAND - Sean Lampley tied a career high with 21 points and added a career-best 18 rebounds to lead California to an 87-72 victory over Houston Thursday night at the Arena in Oakland.

With the win, Cal improved to 3-1, while Houston fell to 3-3.

For Lampley, it was his third straight double-double after coming back from a torn ligament in his right hand. He had nine points and 11 boards by halftime.

The Bears jumped out to a quick start, rushing out to a 15-4 lead five minutes into the game. Francisco Elson, who finished with a career-high 13 points, had the first five points of the run.

However, Houston roared back to tie the game at 25-25 with 7:26 left on a pair of Kenny Younger free throws. Four minutes later with the score tied at 33-33, Cal ran off the last 10 points of the half for a 43-33 advantage at the break.

In the second half, Cal extended its lead to 51-36 on a Thomas Kilgore layup. But Houston again came back, this time making the score 53-49 with 12:11 to go. Three consecutive three-pointers by Dennis Gates, though, pushed the lead back to 68-55. The Bears led by as many as 22 points with five minutes left.

In addition to Lampley and Elson, Gates finished with 12 points, all on three-pointers. Lampley's rebound total was the most for a Cal player since Shareef Abdur-Rahim also had 18 at Washington State Jan. 25, 1996.

Cal returns to action Saturday when the Bears host Rhode Island at 2 p.m. at the Arena.