December 22, 1998

Box Score

OAKLAND, Calif. - Thomas Kilgore returned from a two-game suspension to score 17 points off the bench, leading California to a 94-65 victory over Southwestern Louisiana in the championship game of the Golden Bear Classic on Tuesday night.

The Bears, who won their sixth straight, led 46-20 at halftime and never let up, hitting 70 points before the Ragin' Cajuns (4-5) reached 30.

Coupled with an opening-round 84-49 win over Eastern Washington, California (8-1) outscored opponents by a combined score of 178-114 in the tournament.

Kilgore, suspended for missing a team flight last week, hit five of seven shots from the field and went 5-for-6 from the line. The Bears shot 63.6 percent (35 for 55) on the night.

Michael Gill, Francisco Elson and Carl Boyd all had 13 points for the Bears.

Derrick Warren scored 12 points in 13 minutes of the bench to lead Southwestern Louisiana.

Cal held the Ragin' Cajuns to just .281 (9-for-32) shooting in the first half. Reginald Poole led Southwestern Louisiana with seven points at the break, but he missed 10 of his 13 shots.

A decisive 19-3 run over a five-minute stretch put some distance between the Bears and Ragin' Cajuns, taking Cal from a 12-8 lead to 31-11 after a Kilgore 3-pointer with 9:00 left in the half.

In the consolation final, Mississippi State beat Eastern Kentucky 75-62.