Cal 's 3-and-D Approach Buries Sacramento State, 91-67

Cal utilized a 3-and-D approach to overpower Sacramento State 91-67 on Friday night in front of 4,295 fans at Haas Pavilion.

The Bears made 15 3-pointers and held the Hornets to 26.9-percent shooting to improve to 5-1 on the season.

Sacramento State was Cal’s opponent way back in 1992-93 when Jason Kidd made his Golden Bears’ debut. The Bears won 89-65 on that night and the Hornets weren’t any more competitive in this one.

Cal extended a 47-31 halftime lead to 58-35 when John Camden made a 3-pointer with 16:59 left. Moments later, the Bears began a 10-0 run that pushed the margin to 68-38 with 13:48 to play.

Forward Chris Bell, a transfer from Syracuse, led the Bears with 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 3 for 6 from 3-point range. Justin Pippen, who came from Michigan, also made a trio of 3-pointers on the way to a 16-point, five-assist performance.

Dai Dai Ames, late of Virginia, had a pair of 3s in a stat line that showed 16 points and four assists. Camden, a transfer from Delaware, finished with 14 points, 12 of them courtesy of four 3-pointers, and also dished four assists.

Cal finished 15 for 38 from deep for 39.5 percent.

The Hornets, led by first-year coach and former NBA standout Mike Bibby, shot 18 for 67 from the field, a season-low 26.9 percent by a Cal opponent. The Bears blocked a season-high seven shots, including two each by Pippen and Rytis Petraitis, who also had seven points and six rebounds off the bench.

Coming off a 79-48 loss to UCLA in its previous game, Sacramento State fell to 3-4.

Trailing 12-8 after barely 4 minutes, the Bears assembled a 17-0 run over the next 4 minutes to zoom into a 25-12 lead.

Defense triggered the surge, with the Bears holding the Hornets to 0-for-5 shooting while forcing five turnovers.

Bell scored nine points during the outburst, including a pair of fast break dunks off Sac State turnovers.

The margin reached 20 points at 38-18 when Bell hit a 3-pointer with 6:59 left in the half and grew to 43-20 on a jumper by Ames with 5:08 to go.

The Hornets crept within 47-33 by halftime thanks to an 13-4 run that was initially fueled by three consecutive Cal turnovers.

Six different Cal players hit 3-pointers in the first half, including Bell with three and Pippen with a pair. They were the Bears’ top scorers over the first 20 minutes, logging 17 and 12 points, respectively.

Cal returns to action Tuesday against No. 19 UCLA at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

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Cal ‘s 3-and-D Approach Buries Sacramento State, 91-67

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