California 76, Oregon 69

January 24, 2009

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Jerome Randle had 22 points and five assists, Jamal Boykin added 13 points and nine rebounds and California kept Oregon winless in Pac-10 play with a 76-69 victory Saturday.

Tajuan Porter scored 26 points as the only player in double figures for the downtrodden Ducks (6-14, 0-8), who are the only winless Pac-10 team and off to their worst conference start since losing 11 straight in the 1992-93 conference season.

Cal (16-4, 5-2) had lost two straight since getting back in the Top 25 for the first time since 2003 following a 4-0 start in the conference and a nine-game winning streak. The Golden Bears lost at archrival Stanford last Saturday, then 69-65 at home to Oregon State on Thursday night for their first defeat at Haas Pavilion.

Oregon, which won both meetings with Cal last season and left Berkeley with a decisive 92-70 victory, pulled within 52-46 on Josh Crittle's basket with 9:54 to play. But the Bears immediately answered with six straight points, including Randle's pretty pass to Patrick Christopher for an alleyoop dunk with 9:18 remaining.

Christopher added 13 points and Theo Robertson 11, six assists and five rebounds as the Bears shot 66.7 percent from the floor and overcame 15 turnovers. Cal shot 67.9 percent to beat Texas-Pan American on Nov. 20 but this was its highest performance from the field in conference action, topping a 58-percent showing in an 81-71 win over then No. 17-Arizona State on Jan. 4.

Cal's shooting percentage also was the highest in a Pac-10 game this season.

Oregon was outrebounded 28-24 and shot 6-for-17 from 3-point range. Dozens of disappointed Ducks fans who made the trip to the Bay Area headed for the exits early.

The Bears made five of their first six shots -- 3-for-3 from long range by Randle -- on the way to a quick 12-4 lead and kept up their strong shooting to finish at 61.5 (16-for-26) percent in the first half on the way to a 36-28 lead at the break. Boykin scored six straight points during one stretch.

Oregon went nearly six minutes without a field goal late in the half.

Cal football coach Jeff Tedford sat courtside and received a loud standing ovation during a timeout just before halftime.