Nov. 23, 2012
California Game Notes 
ANAHEIM - California meets Georgia Tech out of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the semifinals of the DIRECTV Classic Friday night. The Golden Bears look to open the season 5-0 for the second time under fifth-year head coach Mike Montgomery and the first since the 2008-09 season when they take on the Yellow Jackets at the Anaheim Convention Center at 9 p.m. (PT).
The ESPN family of networks continue to provide live television coverage of the DIRECTV Classic. The Cal-Georgia Tech matchup will be televised on ESPN2 with Dave Flemming handling the play-by-play and Sean Farnham serving as an analyst. The game can be accessed on WatchESPN.com.
The Cal IMG Sports Network will carry the game on KSFS NewsTalk 910 AM locally with Cal alum Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Todd McKim (analyst) on the call. The broadcast is also available through CalBears.com/All-Access. The pre-game show starts at 8:30 p.m.
The 2012 field for the DIRECTV Classic consists of Cal, Drake, Rice, Georgia Tech, Drexel, Saint Mary's, Xavier and Pacific. Eight more total games will be played on Friday and Sunday following Thursday's results. There will not be any games played on Saturday.
Thursday, November 22
• Game No. 1 - Pacific def. Xavier, 70-67
• Game No. 2 - Saint Mary's def. Drexel, 76-64
• Game No. 3 - Georgia Tech def. Rice, 54-36
• Game No. 4 - Cal def. Drake, 73-70
Friday, November 23
• Game No. 5 - Pacific vs. Saint Mary's/Semi-finals, ESPN2, 12:30 a.m. PT
• Game No. 6 - Xavier vs. Drexel, ESPNU, 3 p.m. PT
• Game No. 7 - Rice vs. Drake, ESPNU, 6:30 p.m. PT
• Game No. 8 - Cal vs. Georgia Tech/Semi-finals, ESPN2, 9 p.m. PT
Sunday, November 25
• Game No. 9 - Games 6 & 7 winners, ESPNU, 10:30 a.m. PT
• Game No. 10 - Games 6 & 7 losers, ESPN3, 1 p.m. PT
• Game No. 11 - Games 5 & 8 losers, ESPNU, 3:30 p.m. PT
• Game No. 12 - Games 5 & 8 winners/Championship, ESPN2, 6 p.m. PT
Cal rallied from as many as nine points down with 6:59 remaining to earn a 73-70, come-from-behind victory over Drake in its DIRECTV Classic opener on Thursday. The Bears are 4-0 overall thanks in large part to the junior guard duo of Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs. Crabbe leads the way with a Pac-12 leading 23.8 points per game. The total is also the 10th-highest in the nation through Thursday's games. Cobbs, who posted a game-high 21 points on Thursday against Drake, averages 20.8 points per contest as the pair have combined for 178 of the team's 302 points this season. Crabbe became the 42nd member of the school's 1,000-point club with 20 points at Denver two games ago. He enters Friday's semifinals with 1,025 points in 69 career games.
Crabbe and Cobbs are joined in the line-up by junior forward Richard Solomon, sophomore forward David Kravish and senior guard Brandon Smith. The Bears have used the same starting lineup in all four of their games this season.
A QUICK RECAP OF LAST NIGHT'S WIN OVER DRAKE
Junior Justin Cobbs scored four of his 21 points in the final 71 seconds, fellow junior Allen Crabbe had 15 points and California rallied from nine points down in the final seven minutes to beat Drake 73-70 in an opening-round game of the DIRECTV Classic.
Down 64-55 with 6:69 remaining, the Bears went on a 14-2 run over the next 3:32 to re-gain control and Cobbs converted a jumper and two free throws in the final 1:12 to seal the win for Cal.
NOTING THE WIN
* With the win over Drake, Cal opened the season 4-0 for the second-straight season and the third time overall under head coach Mike Montgomery.
* The victory improved the Bears' all-time record against Drake to 4-1.
* With 15 points against Drake, junior Allen Crabbe moved into a tie for 40th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,025 points in his 69-game career so far.
* Crabbe collected 13 of his 15 points in the second half and has scored at least 13 points in a single half in all four games this season.
* With two three-pointers against the Bulldogs, Allen moved into a tie with Joe Shipp (2000-03) with 157 career three-pointers.
* Senior Robert Thurman matched his career-best rebound total with seven against Drake. He previously totaled seven rebounds in a game at Washington on Jan. 19, 2012.
* Freshman Tyrone Wallace posted season-highs in points (9), rebounds (7), field goals (4) and matched his career-best in assists (3) and minutes played (23) against Drake.
4-0 START
California has opened the season 4-0 for the second-straight season and the third overall under fifth-year head coach Mike Montgomery. The Bears won their first three games by a double-digit margin.
CONTROLLING THE GLASS
Cal has out-rebounded each of its first four opponents and has recorded 40 or more rebounds in four-straight games for the first time since the 2007-08 season. That year, Cal posted 40 rebounds vs. San Diego State, 48 at Nevada, 41 against Missouri and 43 vs. Jackson State.
Cal posted a +8 (46-38) advantage against CSU Bakersfield, a +3 (39-36) edge vs. Pepperdine, a +12 (40-28) advantage at Denver and a +14 (40-26) edge vs. Drake.
CRABBE NEWEST MEMBER OF 1,000-POINT CLUB
Junior Allen Crabbe became the 42nd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point milestone for his Golden Bear career. He hit the four-digit total with a three-pointer at the 9:34 mark of the second half at Denver a week ago tonight. Crabbe achieved the milestone in his 68th career game, which is 19 games less than it took Cal's all-time leading scorer Jerome Randle (1,835 from 2006-10) to reach the 1,000-point mark.
Crabbe enters Friday's Georgia Tech game tied with Charlie Johnson (1969-71) for 40th in school history in career scoring with 1,025 points in 69 career games.
PAC-12'S LEADING SCORER
With an average of 23.8 points per game through the season's first four contests, Crabbe is the Pac-12 Conference's leading scorer and ranks 10th in the nation overall entering Friday's games. His career-high 33 points against Pepperdine this season equaled the most points by an individual in the conference through Thursday's action. Oregon State's Ahmad Starks scored 33 against New Mexico State on Nov. 11. He is also among the conference leaders in three-point field goals made per game, free-throw percentage, three-point field goal percentage and minutes played.
SCORING IN BUNCHES
Crabbe has scored 13 or more points in a single half in each of the first four games. In the first half of the season opener vs. CSUB, the junior poured in 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-4 from the three-point range. In the second half of the Pepperdine contest, the guard registered 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. In the second half of the Bears' game at Denver, Crabbe posted 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. He registered 13 of his 15 points in the second-half vs. Drake.
STRETCH OF 20-POINT GAMES SNAPPED
With 20 or more points in the season's first three games, the junior fell one game shy of equaling his longest career stretch of 20-point contests. The guard recorded four-straight games of 20 or more points during his freshman season, pouring in 26 at Oregon State, 24 vs. Stanford, 21 against USC, and 20 vs. Mississippi in consecutive games. Crabbe opened the 2012-13 season with 27 points vs. CSU Bakersfield, posted a career-best 33 points against Pepperdine and 20 at Denver before ending his streak with 15 last night against Drake.
COBBS AND CRABBE
Junior guards Justin Cobbs and Allen Crabbe have combined to score 178 of Cal's 302 points through the first four games. Crabbe has poured in a conference-leading 95 points on the year, while Cobbs, who was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention pick last season, isn't far behind with 83 points.
The duo has connected on 61 of the Bears' 109 field goals this season and is shooting a combined .604 (61-of-101) from the floor through the first four games of the year. The pair has also accounted for 23 of Cal's 52 assists this season.
COBBS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
Junior Justin Cobbs, who led Cal with 21 points last night against Drake, ranks among the conference leaders in scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and assists per game. Cobbs leads the Bears in assists (13) for the second-straight season. The 6-3 guard, who transferred from Minnesota, made his Cal debut last season after sitting out 2010-11 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 Cal's assist leader and ranked third in the Pac-12 Conference in assists with 169 last season for a 4.9 assists-per-game average. His 169 assists was the ninth-most in a season in school history.
KRAVISH PROVIDES POST PRESENCE
After a 2011-12 season where David Kravish earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 Freshman team, the 6-9 forward added 20 pounds to his frame in the off-season and has become a bigger presence in the post. In the season opener vs. CSU Bakersfield, the sophomore posted a game-high three blocks to go along with nine rebounds. He is the team's leading rebounder with 34 through four games, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12 through Thursday's action. The recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds at Denver.
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. 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 in the season opener, playing his first game since Jan. 12, 2012. After missing the final 15 games last season, Solomon has started each of the Bears' first four games, averaging 6.0 ppg. and 5.0 rpg. The forward averaged 6.0 points and 6.2 rebounds to go along with 16 blocks last season.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
The Bears last played an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 2010-11 season. Cal dropped a 68-46 decision to Boston College at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. on Nov. 28, 2010.
SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are 3-0 on the season with victories over Tulane (79-61), Presbyterian (52-38) and last night over Rice (54-36) with each of those three wins coming by at least 14 points.
Freshman Marcus Georges-Hunt paces the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 11.7 points per game. Junior Kammeon Holsey is right behind with an 11.3 points-per-game clip. Junior Daniel Miller controls the boards for Georgia Tech with 7.3 rebounds per game.
Head coach Brian Gregory is in his second season at the helm of the Yellow Jackets program. He guided them to an 11-20 record in his first season in Atlanta in 2011-12.
CALIFORNIA-GEORGIA TECH SERIES HISTORY
Cal is 2-0 all-time against Georgia Tech. The Bears earned an 82-57 victory on Dec. 29, 1950 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco and a 78-45 win one day later on Dec. 30, 1950 in Berkeley.
