California responded to a second-half deficit with six straight points and held visiting UC Davis scoreless for more than four minutes late in the contest Tuesday night as the Golden Bears survived a scare from their Northern California neighbor to record a 72-66 nonconference victory in Berkeley, Calif.
Matt Bradley scored three of his team-high 19 points in the key sequence, which allowed Cal (5-2) to rally and end a two-game skid, losses to Duke and Texas last week in New York.
Ezra Manjon scored a game-high 21 points for UC Davis (2-6), which lost its fifth straight.
The Golden Bears never trailed until Stefan Gonzalez buried a 3-pointer to cap a 13-0 UC Davis run that gave the visitors a 49-48 advantage with 9:06 to go. Gonzalez had another 3-pointer in the flurry, while Manjon contributed two hoops and two assists.
Andre Kelly ended the Cal drought with a jumper, then added another for a three-point lead, only to see Gonzalez bomb in another 3-pointer to produce the first of two ties in the final 7:47.
Matt Neufeld gave UC Davis one more lead at 54-52 with 7:07 remaining, but the Aggies then didn't score again until Joe Mooney connected on a 3-pointer with 3:00 to go, trimming Cal's lead to 60-57.
But Paris Austin countered with a 3-pointer of his own with 1:37 remaining, giving Cal the cushion it needed to secure the narrow win.
Cal, which opened the season with four straight home wins, appeared on the verge of a blowout when Bradley nailed a 3-pointer for a 30-14 lead with 5:58 remaining in the first half.
The Golden Bears led 36-25 at the half, and 48-36 in the seventh minute of the second period after a pair of Bradley free throws before the Aggies made their run.
Kareem South added 14 points, Grant Anticevich 13 points to complement 11 rebounds, and Austin 12 points for the Golden Bears, who have never lost to UC Davis in three meetings.
Manjon also found time for a game-high six assists for UC Davis, while Gonzalez finished with 15 points and Mooney 11.
Cal outshot U.C. Davis 58.7 percent to 37.7, but committed 15 turnovers to the Aggies' four.
--Field Level Media
UC Davis | California | |
Ezra Manjon 21 | Scoring | Matt Bradley 19 |
Ezra Manjon 6 | Assists | Kareem South 4 |
Joe Mooney 4 | Rebounds | Grant Anticevich 11 |
Ezra Manjon 4 | Free Throws Made | Matt Bradley 4 |
Elijah Pepper 2 | Steals | Juhwan Harris-Dyson 1 |
N/A | Blocks | Grant Anticevich 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
UC Davis | 66 | 37.7 | 11-27 | 9-13 | 9 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
California | 72 | 58.7 | 8-15 | 10-16 | 11 | 34 | 3 | 1 | 15 |