Tightwad Hill

EIGHT GREAT WINS

As promised, here's a list of eight memorable Cal wins over the Bruins for your enjoyment and inspiration during Bruin Week:

#8. Whupping
California 64 UCLA 51, at Pauley Pavilion
January 22, 2005

Cal had beaten UCLA at Pauley before, but never had they completely demoralized the Bruins and their fans. UCLA's fans lustily booed at halftime, and then left en masse with about four minutes remaining. And why not? Cal entered the game at 8-8 and 1-5 in conference. UCLA, coming off a Thursday night loss to Stanford, was 10-5 and 4-3. You couldn't have told it from the game, as Cal's defense suffocated the Bruins, holding them to 23% shooting and an almost nine minute scoreless drought in the first half. UCLA scored only four baskets in the last 6:58. David Paris scored twenty points and Rod Benson added 14 points and 14 boards for the Bears.

#7. The Valentine's Day Upset
California 82 UCLA 79, at Harmon Gymnasium
February 14, 1991

Cal had been blown out by 17 at Pauley Pavilion a month earlier, and the Bruins came in ranked #15 in the nation behind Don McLean and Tracy Murray. But Cal raced out to a ten point first-half advantage behind Billy Dreher, who would finish with 24 points. UCLA started the second half on a 26-7 run and built a seven point lead with ten to play. But then UCLA's offense stalled and didn't score a basket for the next six minutes. When the Bruins looked up, Cal was up six and would hold on for the memorable upset.

#6. Defense
California 69 UCLA 51, at Haas Pavilion
February 21, 2002

UCLA hadn't scored fewer than 64 points all season, but Cal's league-leading defense shackled the Bruins. Amit Tamir scored 18 points and Brian Wethers added 15. This game was memorable for a flagrant elbow by Matt Barnes on Shantay Legans with 2:25 remaining. Barnes was ejected and later suspended for a game and the Haas crowd screamed for his blood as he exited the arena. The loss dropped #25 UCLA out of the conference race.

#5. Happy New Year
California 68 UCLA 61, at Pauley Pavilion
December 31, 2005

UCLA entered the game at #11 (and would go on to win the conference and finish national runners-up); Cal had not beaten a team ranked that high in seven years. But the Bears shot the lights out (66.7% in the second half) and Leon Powe controlled the boards on both ends. Down by four with 1:30 remaining, UCLA's Jordan Farmar sank a jumper and then Aaron Afflalo stole the ball from Ayinde Ubaka under the Bruins' basket on the ensuing possession. Ubaka, making perhaps the play of his career, stole it right back and scored the layup that essentially clinched it. Ayinde finished with 18 points, and Omar Wilkes and Richard Midgely added 15 apiece.

#4. Jason, Jimmah. Jimmah, Jason.
California 104 UCLA 82, at Pauley Pavilion
January 24, 1993

Jim Harrick thought it would be a good idea to attack Cal's heralded point guard with pressure. Jason Kidd and mates dropped a hundred on the Bruins for the first of three consecutive Bear victories at Pauley. Kidd navigated the Bruin press effortlessly, and set up bigs Al Grigsby and Brian Hendrick inside. Grigsby scored 17 in the first half, and he and Hendrick both finished with 23. Jerrod Haase added 16 points for the Bears, despite the death of his father the day before. Cal would go on to make the Sweet 16 that year.

#3. Braun's first win
California 71 UCLA 68, at Pauley Pavilion
February 6, 1997

UCLA had won 18 in a row at Pauley before Ed Gray came to town. The Pac-10 POY dropped 29 points on the Bruins, and Randy Duck added 17 to bring the Bears into a first-place tie with UCLA, Arizona and USC. Gray's short jumper with 1:14 left put the Bears up for good at 67-66. Charles O'Bannon said it best after the game: "(Cal) wanted the game more than us. That's the bottom line." This was Ben Braun's first victory over UCLA.

#2. Sweep
California 92 UCLA 88, at Pauley Pavilion
February 24, 1994

This looked like a repeat of the 1993 contest for the first 37 minutes. Cal controlled the game on both ends behind Lamond Murray's 36 points and 23 points and 11 assists from Jason Kidd, and led by 16 with three to play. UCLA then embarked upon a 15-1 run, sparked by seven points from Shon Tarver. The Bruins had the ball with a chance to tie but Cal's over-pursuing defense forced them into a shot clock violation, and free throws by Kidd and Murray iced the game. Cal had swept the Bruins for the first time in history.

#1. The Streak is Over
California 75 UCLA 67, at Harmon Gymnasium
January 25, 1986

At Lou Campanelli's welcome press conference, a reporter asked him when he planned to end Cal's 52-game losing streak to UCLA. Campanelli had never heard of the streak, and did a quick consult with AD Dave Maggard. Stepping back to the microphone, he said the streak would end "the first time we play them." NBC was there for a national broadcast, and Cal students slept outside Harmon for a choice view of history. They got it, thanks not so much to KJ but to career games by Chris Washington and Dave Butler. UCLA held a 62-60 lead with four to play when Washington scored on a layup. He then stole the inbounds pass and dunked for a two-point Cal lead. Washington finished with 19 points and Butler added 23 points and 10 rebounds. Following the game, Cal fans stormed the court and players cut down the nets, celebrating the end of 26 years of futility.

posted by Tightwad @ 2:00 PM