Cal rallies to beat Huskies 72-59

  • By Christian Caple The News Tribune
  • Saturday, February 15, 2014 5:32pm
  • SportsSports

SEATTLE — Lorenzo Romar is disappointed, and it’s showing.

You can see it in the eyes of the Washington Huskies basketball coach. You can hear it in his voice as he speaks with reporters after one of his team’s most frustrating performances of a season marked by inconsistency.

All losses hurt. This one seems to have hurt a little more.

California is better than Washington, and so it was on Saturday afternoon at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, where 7,214 watched as the Golden Bears erased a 12-point, first-half deficit and subsequently pulled away for a 72-59 victory.

But it’s the way the Huskies gave this one away that will most bother Romar, who accurately observed afterward that “it was there for the taking, and we didn’t take it.”

It’s the first home loss of the Pac-12 season for UW (14-12, 6-7 in Pac-12), which next week returns to the road — that hasn’t gone so well this season — for a pair of games at Oregon and Oregon State.

Most of Washington’s problems, Romar said, are mental. So the coach was visibly frustrated while speaking of turnovers, and of mental lapses that lead to more mental lapses that lead to more turnovers, and, too, more easy baskets for the opponent.

“I don’t know if you can do it in three days,” Romar said, “but we have to have a mental adjustment fast before we get out on that road.”

They looked plenty well-adjusted in the first 14 minutes against Cal, a team that defeated UW by 26 points a month ago in Berkeley.

Washington raced to a 27-15 lead, benefiting from aggressive play by point guard Nigel Williams-Goss, and a strong early shooting performance by sophomore guard Andrew Andrews, who played all of five minutes during Wednesday night’s victory over Stanford.

Andrews made his first three attempts from 3-point range, the last two of which were made possible by offensive rebounds. The Huskies were guarding, Cal was missing shots, and UW looked like the same team that won each of its first five Pac-12 games in this building.

Until it didn’t. Washington began giving the ball away. Cal began scoring. The Bears dunked twice and added other easy baskets, too, scoring 14 points off UW’s 10 first-half turnovers.

It was a 17-0 Cal run before UW stopped it with senior guard C.J. Wilcox’s first basket of the game. Cal guard Justin Cobbs followed by dribbling rather easily to the rim and converting a layup before the halftime buzzer.

The Bears (17-8, 8-4) led, 34-29, at halftime. Given the way the Huskies collapsed during those final six minutes, it felt like a larger margin. It might as well have been.

In the middle of Cal’s run, Romar said, “I looked up and said ‘we’re not playing very well,’ and I looked at the scoreboard — we’re still up eight at that point. But at that point we got down on ourselves and we weren’t able to recover.”

They played, Romar said, like they were on the road. For a team that is 1-6 in Pac-12 play away from home this season, that is a damning truth.

“We knew when we were huddled up that we had to limit our turnovers and stop the little things we did on the road, or else we were going to get the same result,” said Andrews, who tied a career-high with 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds. “We weren’t able to do that today.”

The second half was not much better. Cal slowly built a 13-point lead, and even when UW scored eight consecutive points to trim that lead to five, the Huskies couldn’t quite break through. Cal’s lead never dipped below six points in the game’s final 10:21.

Part of that was the Bears’ ability to contain Wilcox, who tied a season-low with eight points and did not make a 3-pointer. As a team, the Huskies shot just 4-for-21 from beyond the arc, and made only 35.9 percent of their field-goal attempts.

Romar asked Wilcox at halftime to be more aggressive. But he finished just 4-of-12, and he didn’t have much help outside of Andrews.

“It’s tough for me because I don’t want to force the issue,” said Wilcox, who was often defended by more than one player. “I feel like that’s what I have to do to be aggressive.”

But the blame for this one extends to everyone who played.

“It wasn’t just C.J.,” Romar said. “We just mentally … we didn’t take care of the ball. We didn’t guard. We didn’t make shots. … C.J. has and is having a heck of a year for us. We need to, as a team, be able to step up.”

Precious little time remains to achieve that.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Sports

Storm suffocates Valkyries late to knock off rivals

The Storm allowed just six points in the final six minutes to defeat Golden State 67-58.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a news conference following a meeting of the NBA's board of governors at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Chase Stevens / Las Vegas Review-Journal / Tribune News Services)
NBA to conduct ‘in-depth analysis’ of possible expansion

The owners do not have timetable for potential return of Sonics

Seahawks rookie safety Nick Emmanwori (3) practices at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton on May 20, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Edwin Hooper / Seattle Seahawks)
Seahawks draft pick at the center of NFL contract intrigue

Nick Emmanwori is poised to be dynamic. Right away. He’s on his… Continue reading

Kyle Schwarber (12) of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after hitting three home runs in the swing-off to decide the MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/TNS)
MLB All-Star Game features a first-of-its-kind finish

Technically, by the time the clock hit midnight here in… Continue reading

Cal Raleigh wins 2025 MLB Home Run Derby

Cal Raleigh called his shot years ago. In a childhood video spreading… Continue reading

Silvertips forward Shea Busch participates in the Florida Panthers development camp at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 1, 2025. Florida selected Busch in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on June 28. (Photo courtesy Shea Busch)
Shea Busch experiences whirlwind NHL Draft week

The Florida Panthers selected the Silvertips forward in the fourth round on June 28.

Portland Fire unveil name, branding as WNBA’s 15th team

A flame is being reignited for Portland’s new WNBA franchise. On Tuesday,… Continue reading

Late Mystics surge dooms Storm as stars struggle

Seattle dropped to 13-9 after shooting 36.2% from the field.

Jorge Polanco (7), right, of the Seattle Mariners celebrates his ninth inning home run with J.P. Crawford (3) while playing the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Detroit. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images / Tribune News Services)
Mariners sweep Tigers on way to All-Star break

The Detroit Tigers still have the best record in baseball,… Continue reading

Mariners select LSU pitcher with No. 3 pick in MLB draft

College baseball’s best pitcher is coming to the Emerald City. The Seattle… Continue reading

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning championship point against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during the Gentlemen's Singles Final on day 14 of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in London. (Julian Finney / Getty Images / Tribune News Services)
Sinner conquers Alcaraz for his first Wimbledon title

The vision of Jannik Sinner covered in sweat and… Continue reading

Rome Odunze scans the field in a scrimmage at his youth football camp at Archbishop Murphy High School on July 10, 2025. The former University of Washington star is entering his second NFL season with the Chicago Bears. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
Odunze ‘gives back’ in Everett youth football camp

The former University of Washington star hosts a single-day camp at Archbishop Murphy on Thursday.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.