Men's Hoops Defeated by Host California in Golden Bear Classic, 98-62

Saturday, December 27

Berkeley, Calif.

4:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

2-7

California

10-2

Dartmouth

California

Men's Hoops Defeated by Host California in Golden Bear Classic, 98-62

12/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Boxscore

BERKELEY, Calif. ? A combination of accurate shooting and aggressive rebounding led to California defeating Dartmouth in the first game of the Golden Bear Classic on Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion, 98-62. Jerome Randle led the 13 players who scored for the Bears (10-2) with 15 points, while senior Alex Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.) also tallied 15 points to lead the Big Green (2-7) effort.

California, which entered the game shooting close to 50 percent from the floor for the season, hit 36-of-61 (.590) of its shots in the victory. Four of the five Bear starters scored in double figures, led by Randle's 15. Theo Robertson had 13 for the host, while Jordan Wilkes added 11 and Patrick Christopher chipped in 10. Omondi Amoke just missed out on a double-double with nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds as Cal beat the Big Green on the glass by a 46-29 margin.

On the other end of the spectrum, Dartmouth found it difficult to find its shooting stroke, managing to hit just 22-of-68 (.324) for the game. Freshman point guard Jabari Trotter (Northridge, Calif.) scored 13 points in his return to his home state, complementing Barnett's 15, while senior Dan Biber (Lorain, Ohio) contributed 10 off the bench. Senior Kurt Graeber (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) led the Big Green rebounding effort with six boards.

Dartmouth kept the game within one possession for nearly the first 14 minutes, and held a 17-14 lead after a Barnett jumper with 13:19 on the clock. His three-pointer nearly six minutes later brought Dartmouth back within three at 27-24, but Cal ran off 19 of the last 25 points in the opening half, capped by a Randle triple, to take a 46-30 advantage in the locker room at the intermission.

The Bears' hot hand was evident in the early going as they shot a sizzling 62.1 percent (18-of-29) while hitting two of their only three three-point attempts. And when the shots didn't fall for either side, Cal was usually there to clean up the glass, grabbing 22 rebounds to just 11 for the Big Green. Randle had 11 of his 15 points in the first half.

Dartmouth got consecutive three-pointers from Biber and sophomore Ronnie Dixon (Danville, Ill.) early in the second half to keep its hopes alive, but California never let the Big Green get closer than 13. Over the final eight minutes, the Bears outscored Dartmouth by a 29-10 margin, bloating the final difference.

With the loss, Dartmouth will Air Force (8-3) in the consolation game on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 (PST) after the Falcons came up a point short against Portland, 43-42. The Bears will look to win its own tournament against the Pilots (7-5) at 5:00 (PST).