Cal Edges BYU, 71-70, in Men's HoopsGeno Carlisle scores 27 points in victory.
December 19, 1998 PROVO, Utah - Senior guard Geno Carlisle scored a season-high 27 points and California held BYU to just 33.9 percent field goal shooting as the Golden Bears escaped with a 71-70 victory at the Marriott Center Saturday. Cal, which improved to 6-1 on the year with its fourth consecutive win, trailed 35-28 at the half. The Bears came out much stronger after intermission, slowly closing the game. And when Carlisle nailed a three-pointer with 13:18 left, Cal was ahead, 48-47. After BYU (4-6) briefly retook the lead, Cal went up by as many as six points at 59-53 with 5:14 to go. However, the Cougars moved back in front, 60-59, with 4:00 left. The Bears finally went up for good on Sean Lampley's bucket and the teams traded baskets down the stretch. Cal held a 67-63 lead with 46 seconds left, but Michael Vranes made two free throws to bring BYU within two. After a pair of Lampley free throws with 21 seconds left, BYU got within 69-68 on three more free throws with 16 seconds left. Carlisle hit two free throws to give Cal a 71-68 lead. BYU missed its next shot and Cal's Raymond King was fouled. But King missed two free throws with 6.5 seconds left. BYU came down the court and Mark Bigelow tried a three-pointer to tie the game, but he missed and Bret Jepsen's two-point follow up was too little. Cal played without senior guard Thomas Kilgore, who missed the bus to the airport Friday and did not make the trip. Carl Boyd started in his place. In addition to Carlisle, Lampley finished with 16 points and eight rebounds and Solomon Hughes tallied a career-high 10 points and six boards. "I thought the second half was the difference," Cal head coach Ben Braun said. "Defensively, we did a good job. Carl Boyd did a particularly good job on Mark Bigelow to help slow him down. We knew this would be a test, but we found a way in the second half. It was not an easy game."
|
|
