Nov. 12, 2012

California Game Notes

BERKELEY - Coming off a convincing 78-65 victory over CSU Bakersfield in the season opener on Sunday night, California returns to Haas Pavilion on Tuesday to face Pepperdine at 6:30 p.m. (PT).

Cal looks to improve to 32-3 in non-conference home games under head coach Mike Montgomery and 22-1 overall in its last 23 games at Haas Pavilion with a win on Tuesday evening.

The Pac-12 Networks will provide live regional television coverage on Pac-12 Bay Area with Cal's own Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) joining Ernie Kent (analyst) to call the action for Tuesday's contest.

The game will also be available through the Cal IMG Radio Network locally on NewsTalk 910 AM with Todd McKim (play-by-play) and former Golden Bear Jon Wheeler (analyst) on the call. The broadcast is also available through CalBears.com/All-Access.

In front of 8,715 fans at Haas Pavilion on Sunday night, Cal surged out to a sizable advantage and never looked back en route to the season-opening victory over CSU Bakersfield. Junior guards Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs led the way for the Bears, both going over 20 points in the contest. Crabbe poured in a game-high 27 points (with 20 coming in the first half thanks to four three-pointers), while Cobbs contributed 22 in the win.

Senior guard Brandon Smith rebounded from a shoulder injury in the Bears' exhibition contest five days earlier to start the season opener and recorded a game-high five assists to go along with five points in 25 minutes of action. Junior forward Richard Solomon saw his first action since January 12, 2012 and collected nine rebounds and eight points in a starting role. Sophomore forward David Kravish posted a game-high three blocks to go along with nine rebounds and four points in 27 minutes of action.

Two freshmen made their collegiate debut in Sunday's season opener. Bakersfield native Tyrone Wallace entered in the game early in the first half and registered six points and three assists in 23 minutes of action. Forward Kahlil Johnson, a Los Angeles native, entered late in the contest, recording a rebound in four minutes on the floor.

The Bears played 11 men in the season opener with center Bak Bak, forwards Robert Thurman and Christian Behrens and guard Jeff Powers also logging minutes in the season opener. Thurman scored six points and pulled down five rebounds in an efficient 11 minutes on the floor.

Cal welcomes a Pepperdine team out of the West Coast Conference that opened the season with an 81-75 setback to Cal State Northridge on the road this past Friday. It will be the first matchup on the hardwood between the two schools since the 2004-05 season when Cal posted a 61-58 victory at home.

NOTES ON THE SEASON-OPENING WIN
* Cal improved to 5-0 in season openers under Mike Montgomery.

* Cal improved to 30-3 in non-conference home games under Montgomery.

* With 27 points, Allen Crabbe reached 20 points for the 14th time in his career. His total was his highest since also scoring 27 in overtime vs. Arizona on Feb. 11, 2011.

* Crabbe's four three-pointers gave him 149 for his career, which ranks No. 9 on Cal's all-time list.

* Justin Cobbs finished with 22 points, his highest total since pouring in a career-high 28 vs. Oregon on Feb. 16, 2012.

* Crabbe (27 points) and Cobbs (22 points) gave the Bears two 20-point scorers for the first time since Cobbs (career-high 28) and Harper Kamp (20) performed the feat vs. Oregon on Feb. 16, 2012.

* The first Cal freshman to make an appearance was Tyrone Wallace, who entered at the 14:07 mark of the first half. Fellow freshman Kahlil Johnson also made his collegiate debut on Sunday.

CRABBE NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD LIST
Junior guard Allen Crabbe was named to the Preseason Top 50 list for the John Wooden Award for the second-straight season by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Nov. 8.

Allen was one of just nine current players in the country named to the list in consecutive years. He is one of four Pac-12 players - Arizona's Solomon Hill, Washington State's Brock Motum and Colorado's André Roberson were the others - on the list, chosen by college basketball media members.

A First Team All-Pac-12 selection last season, Crabbe led Cal in scoring (15.2 ppg.), rebounding (5.7 rpg.), defensive rebounding (4.0 rpg.), three-point field goals made (83), three-point field goals attempted (208) and free-throw percentage (.843) in 2011-12. He ranked among the Pac-12 leaders in three-point field goals made (first), free-throw percentage (second), defensive rebounding (fifth), scoring (sixth), three-point field goal percentage (10th) and rebounding (14th) as a sophomore. The guard scored in double figures in 28 games, with 20 points or more in seven contests.

CRABBE FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Crabbe is one of the Pac-12 conference's top three-point shooters. Through one game of his junior season with the Bears, he has drained 149 three-pointers, which ranks ninth on Cal's all-time list. His .405 three-point field percentage is ties for sixth-best in school history. As a sophomore in 2011-12, Crabbe recorded 62 three-pointers, which ranked as the seventh-most in a season in school history.

CRABBE FROM THE LINE
Crabbe has established himself as one of the team's top free throw shooters. He has attempted 183 free throws through the first game of his junior season in Berkeley, converting 150 of those attempts. The guard owns a .820 free-throw percentage, which ranks sixth on the school's all-time list.

COBBS RETURNS AS ONE OF LEAGUE'S ASSIST LEADERS
Junior guard Justin Cobbs has returned for his second season with the Golden Bears after earning Pac-12 Honorable mention recognition last year. The 6-3 guard, who transferred from Minnesota, made his debut with the Bears last season after sitting out the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer regulations. He earned a starting role eight games into last season and finished the year with a 12.6 points-per-game average. Cobbs was the Bears' assist leader and ranked third in the Pac-12 Conference overall in assists with 169 on the season for a 4.9 assists-per-game average. His 169 assists was the ninth-most in a season in school history. The junior guard dished out three assists in the season opener.

KRAVISH LOOKS TO BUILD ON FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN
After a 2011-12 season where David Kravish earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 Freshman team, the 6-9 forward looks to build on each of his totals from a year ago. He added 20 pounds to his frame in the off-season and looks to become a bigger presence in the post. In the season opener against CSU Bakersfield, the sophomore posted a game-high three blocks to go along with nine rebounds. As a freshman, Kravish started 24 games and averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds. He recorded 41 blocks - the third-most by a freshman in school history - ranked ninth overall and second among freshmen in the Pac-12 Conference. Kravish's .594 field-goal percentage (98-of-165) was the highest among Cal's regular starters last season.

SOLOMON RETURNS TO LINEUP
Junior forward Richard Solomon returned to the Cal lineup on Sunday night for the first time since Jan. 12, 2012. After missing the final 20 games last season, Solomon was back in the starting lineup vs. CSU Bakersfield. He finished the season opener with eight points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes. The forward averaged 6.0 points and 6.2 rebounds to go along with 16 blocks last season.

SENIOR TRIO LOOKS FOR ANOTHER LEAGUE TITLE
The senior class of guard Brandon Smith and forwards Bak Bak and Robert Thurman have provided veteran leadership for the Bears. Smith is one of Cal's top guards with strong perimeter play, while Bak and Thurman are a big part of the Bears' post presence. Each was a member of the 2009-10 team that won the league title. Smith played in 26 games that season, while Bak saw action in eight contests. Thurman redshirted after transferring from Norwich University.

BEARS WELCOME FIVE-MEMBER FRESHMAN CLASS
A talented five-member freshman class arrives in Berkeley this season, providing strong depth to the Bears' lineup. Three of the top scholastic players from the Golden State last season - Bakersfield's Tyrone Wallace, Los Angeles' Kahlil Johnson and Del Mar's Garrett Galvin - will look to add depth to Cal's perimeter. Colorado standout forward Kaileb Rodriguez and Carlsbad, Calif. 7-1 center Geoffrey Frid will add to the Bears' presence in the paint. Wallace and Johnson made their collegiate debuts in Cal's season opener against CSU Bakersfield. Wallace scored six points and recorded three assists and five rebounds in 23 minutes, while Johnson was scoreless, pulling down one rebound in four minutes of action.