Wow, that's as great of a first half as I have ever seen. I was especially impressed by the defensive intensity. Maarty was not letting Anderson have anything. Porter denied every pass hard. I've seen really good stretches of match up zone, but that was the best half of man to man defense that I have ever seen by an Ernie Kent team.
Offensively, Porter was just en fuego. Everything he touched (and everybody else, for that matter) turned to gold. I think MVP only made one shot that half--he didn't need to shoot.
In the second half, Ducks seemed to come out without that fire, and it allowed the Bears to cut a 21 point defecit to six. Oregon couldn't make a shot, and couldn't stop Cal on the defensive end. But, at that point with about nine minutes left, two things happened simulaneously. Cal ran out of gas. And Oregon heated up again. But the one guy who kept us from losing the lead in that second half was Malik Hairston. Every time Cal would get on a run, Malik would get a big shot at the rim. He had 20 points, none on jumpers or threes. They were all Dunks and layups, and when he is in the paint, he is tough to stop. Hopefully, this gives him confidence for the rest of the season.
USC up next. They have two narrow wins against The only team in the conference we haven't beaten, here is our last chance.
GO DUCKS!!!
--Dave