East Carolina gave all Cal men’s basketball it could handle in the first game of the Las Vegas Invitational but came up just short, 70-62, in a loss. The Bears, who had 15 turnovers on the game, were led by guard Tyrone Wallace who had 20 points, while forward Ivan Rabb added 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Cal forced East Carolina into missing its first nine shots of the game backed by Rabb’s stout defense. The five-star recruit from Oakland dominated on both ends of the floor, recording five blocks on the game as Cal’s second line of defense. The Pirates, however, stayed competitive and even took the lead at one point by forcing the Bears into several early turnovers and letting them shoot jumpers. East Carolina trailed by just five points, 31-26, at the end of the half.
Cal continued to struggle from the field as it couldn’t get a jumper to drop. Rabb, however, thrived off of the long rebounds and feasted on second chance points. He had a double-double five minutes into the second half and contributed six offensive rebounds. East Carolina got within three with two minutes left but a pair of offensive rebounds with seconds to go forced the Pirates to foul. The Bears put the game away at the free-throw line.
Full recap to follow.
Winston Cho covers men’s basketball. Contact him at wcho@dailycal.org. Follow him on Twitter @winstonscho