LOS ANGELES -- After taking down Washington in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament, Cal was hoping to get some revenge on top seed UCLA after suffering a heartbreaking loss last weekend in Westwood.

But the Bears didn't have the kind of energy that they needed to upset the three-time conference champs and UCLA cruised to an easy 88-66 victory to advance to tomorrow's semifinals against cross-town rival USC.

That should certainly be an exciting one to watch and one that should pack the house here at Staples Center.

On the stat sheet, UCLA point guard Darren Collison led everyone with 19 points, canning 5-of-7 threes and dishing out five assists. Josh Shipp really stepped up, too, finding his stroke early on from three to finish with 18 points on 3-of-6 shooting from downtown.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love were the other double-digit scorers for the Bruins, as Westbrook dropped in 12 and Love added 11 despite getting in foul trouble early in the first half. But the 6-foot-10 freshman really gave his team some momentum after halftime, stroking three straight threes to put the Bruins back up by double digits and from there it was never really a game again.

For Cal, which committed a game-high 18 turnovers and struggled from three-point range at just 26.7 percent, Ryan Anderson led the scoring attack with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Patrick Christopher, off his 25-point performance yesterday against Washington, added 12 and DeVon Hardin had 10 for Ben Braun's club, which finishes the season 16-15 overall and 6-12 in the Pac-10.

UCLA improved to 29-3 and 16-2 with the win, and the Bruins are looking forward to their chance to play the Trojans for a third time this season.

This time, though, it will be for a chance to reach the Pac-10 finals, something that Howland would very much like to see from his team despite locking up a No. 1 seed in the West with today's win.

We'll be back in a little bit to bring you all the action between No. 3 seed Washington State and No. 6 seed Oregon in our next quarterfinal matchup, so stay tuned for that.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- With nine minutes to go in the second half of our second game here at Staples Center, it's UCLA in control with a 25-point lead on ninth-seeded Cal.

The Bruins are looking back to that sort of team that many project will reach the Final Four for a third straight year after claiming its third consecutive regular season Pac-10 championship. That could certainly happen if Ben Howland's team gets the No. 1 seed in the West region, where they'd start in Anaheim, Calif., for the first two rounds and then continue onto Phoenix for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

With that in mind, there's less than five minutes left in this one, and UCLA is up by 30 now with a 78-48 lead.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- This one has seemed to get out of hand as No. 1 seed has put together quite a run in the second half to lead, 60-36, with more than 12 minutes to play.

Josh Shipp has seemed to find some confidence in his game after enduring a bit of a shooting slump over the past five or six games, and the Bruins are getting a big lift with Kevin Love back on the court. You can tell how much better Ben Howland's squad is with the 6-foot-10 forward on the floor, though reserve senior Lorenzo Matta's play in the first half -- eight points, three rebounds and three blocks -- should not go without being noticed.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Love only scored two points in the first half, but the freshman big man already has 11 now after draining three straight threes to put top-seeded UCLA up big, 48-29, on Cal just two minutes into the second half.

Ryan Anderson has started to answer for Cal, but the Bears need someone else to step up besides the First Team All-Pac-10 selection Ryan Anderson.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Despite getting Kevin Love for only nine minutes in the first half, it's UCLA leading Cal, 39-25, at halftime in our second game of the day.

Darren Collison, however, has picked up the slack for the Bruins, showing confidence in his step and shot and leading all scorers with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-for-3 from downtown.

The Bruins are shooting an impressive 48.4 percent from the field, and even better, 55.6 percent from three-point range. And if they keep that up, it will be tough for Cal to make a comeback in the second half.

Speaking of the Bears, Ryan Anderson is leading the way with seven points at the break, while Patrick Christopher has contributed five to Cal's scoring line. Ben Braun's team might be feeling the affects of that close win over Washington yesterday in the first round of the tournament, and the Bears are only shooting 40 percent from the field and 25 percent from three. Cal, surprisingly, does have the advantage on the boards at 15-14, but the Bears have already committed 13 turnovers to the Bruins' five.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- I have to be honest: I've been a little spoiled during my stay here at Staples Center the past 36 hours.

While the Arizona cheerleading squad sat in front of the Posting Up perch last night in the Wildcats' big win over Oregon State, the USC and UCLA squads are now front and center, and it's not exactly easy to focus on the game being played on the court.

Sitting next to me is Cyrus Ahalt, one of our CSTV.com Road Trippers, and he's enjoying "the action" right in front of us as well.

We've taken a timeout here with 3:27 left in the first half and UCLA is leading Cal by a 32-19 margin thanks in part to some Ben Howland defense, pressing up top and forcing the Bears into some turnovers that have led to easy run-outs.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Love picked up two quick fouls at the 11-minute mark, and Cal has cut UCLA's lead down to single digits as Ryan Anderson starts to get his game going.

With Love out, it's been a different game for sure, as the Bruins have to rely much more on their perimeter shooting from Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook and Josh Shipp.

And with the recent slump that Shipp's been in, the Bears are once again right in this once against the No. 3 team in the country and a team that Anderson thought his team could beat after the way they came so close last weekend at Pauley Pavilion.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- As we wrap up the first game between USC and Arizona State, we're into our second game of the day, featuring No. 1 seed UCLA and ninth-seeded Cal, who edged Washington yesterday afternoon to reach the quarterfinals.

Right now it's UCLA out to a 10-point lead on the Bears, as Kevin Love got a breakaway dunk to start things off before the Bruins clapped down on defense.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Despite their seedings, it didn't matter that Cal and Washington had ended the season near the bottom of the Pac-10 standings.

And even more, Ryan Anderson didn't want to head back up north to Berkeley without another shot at UCLA.

So with two seconds left on the shot clock and under a minute to go against the Huskies, the 6-foot-10 forward knocked down a huge three from the right wing to end Washington's season and send the Bears into the quarterfinals against the top-seeded Bruins with a 84-81 victory.

Patrick Christopher finished with a game-high 25 points and Anderson dropped in 22 in the big come-from-behind win for the Bears, who trailed by as many as 12 with 17:35 left in the second half.

Afterward, Ben Braun was pleased with his team's resiliency and acknowledged the hard work down in the paint by Devon Hardin, who was sidelined last weekend in the trip down to Los Angeles to face USC and UCLA. The senior center wasn't a huge factor on the offensive end, tallying just seven points, but Hardin did grab eight rebounds and block two shots in his 20 minutes of action.

For Washington, Quincy Pondexter filled in nicely for leading scorer Jon Brockman, hitting nine of his 16 shots for a team-high 23 points and collecting nine rebounds.Artem Wallace added 11 points and nine rebounds to the Huskies' stat sheet and Ryan Appleby got all 12 of his points on four threes.

On the glass, Cal held a 43-34 advantage yet shot only 40 percent from the field for the game compared to UW's 45.3 mark. I'll have more on this game in tomorrow's column, but for now we turn our attention to the second game of tonight's action, featuring No. 7 seed Arizona needing a win over No. 10 seed Oregon State, which finished the Pac-10 season at 0-18, to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- With two seconds left on the shot clock, Cal's Ryan Anderson hit what could be the game's winning shot, falling away from the right swing to swish a three and give the Bears a 82-78 lead.

Washington tried to respond at the other end of the court, but Quincy Pondexters' leaner didn't touch iron and Ryan Appleby's three-point try from the top of the key rimmed in and out.

Anderson came up with the rebound and was fouled immediately, sending him to the free throw line for two critical shots.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- With two minutes left to play now, it's Cal managing to keep its lead with a nice cut to the basket by Patrick Christopher, who is leading all scorers with 25 points.

Quincy Pondexter has 23 for Washington but a costly turnover has the Bears looking to escape with a win and get a rematch with UCLA tomorrow in the quarterfinals.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- After knocking down a three from the left corner to extend Cal's lead to 75-68, Jamal Boykin has just fouled out of the game with 4:57 left as the sophomore court leaves the court to chants of "We Love Boykin" from the Cal band.

Quincy Pondexter knocked down the pair of freebies to cut the Bears' lead to five, and Washington is looking to put together a run of its own with time starting to become a factor.

With 4:25 left, it's Cal up by just three now, 75-72.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- At the eight-minute timeout, it's Cal still in front of Washington by three, 67-64, as we hit the homestretch of our first game of the Pacific Life Pac-10 Tournament at Staples Center.

It's been a tale of two halves for the Bears tonight, as Ben Braun's team has shown a sense of urgency in this second half of play after shooting just 32.4 percent from the field in the first half. Washington, on the other hand, shot 45.7 percent, but it was Cal who dominated the boards, 26-17, and continue to do so with Devon Hardin handling much of the business down low.

Ryan Anderson has also got his game together in this second half, and right now it's Ryan Appleby's hot shooting hand which is keeping Washington close with still plenty of time left.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- Despite trailing for almost the entire first half, Cal has taken a two-point lead with less than 12 minutes remaining in the second half against Washington.

The Bears look to be playing with some more confidence after the Huskies got out to a fast start after halftime on three threes by senior sharpshooter Ryan Appleby.

But it's been another Ryan -- Ryan Anderson that is -- who has stepped up for the Bears, finding his rhythm from the perimeter and taking over the paint with Washington's leading scorer, Jon Brockman, sidelined for tonight's game.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- With a little more than four minutes gone in the second half, Cal has countered Washington's earlier run and cut the Huskies' lead to just five at 55-50.

The Bears have got it done on the defensive end, blocking shots and stepping in the passing lanes, and that has carried over to the offensive end, where the Bears seem to be getting better looks from the perimeter and easy points down low.

That play has got the Cal bench and particularly sophomore forward Jamal Boykin excited on the sideline, and it seems like every other second I look over at Ben Braun and his players I see Boykin standing up, pumping his fists and cheering for his teammates.

With that in mind, we got a heck of a ballgame once again on our hands, and if Cal continues to play up to its potential, then we could have quite a finish at the end of this one.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- After missing all four of his field goal attempts, including two from three-point range, in the first half, senior guard Ryan Appleby has found his stroke from the outside early on in the second half.

The Stanwood, Wash., native has hit three threes in a matter of 2:30 and the Huskies have their biggest lead of the game, 53-41, thanks to a 13-3 run out of the halftime break.

Ben Braun just called his timeout to calm his team down and quiet the storm for the moment, but the Bears are going to need a run soon if they hope to keep things close with UW even without Jon Brockman on the floor tonight.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- After 20 minutes of back-and-forth play, it's Washington clinging to a 40-38 halftime lead as both teams head to the locker room to regroup and get ready for the second half of play.

Leading all scorers is Quincy Pondexter, who is stepping up in place of Washington's leading scorer Jon Brockman and has contributed 11 points and four rebounds. Artem Wallace is playing in place of Brockman and has seven points and three rebounds at the half.

Cal, on the other hand, has two players already in double figures, as sophomore off-guard Patrick Christopher has tallied 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.

Point guard and floor leader Jerome Randle has also done a solid job for Ben Braun's team, dropping in 10 points and committing just one turnover in playing all 20 minutes of the first half.

But let's get back to the action as both teams get ready to start the second half of tonight's No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed matchup.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- While Cal has worked hard to try to cut into Washington's lead, it's the Huskies who have jumped out to a 38-32 lead on Joel Smith's layup and foul (with the freebie still to come).

Right now Washington is looking like the quicker and more active team, as Cal has had trouble stopping drives by several Husky players on the last few times down the floor.

Patrick Christopher, meanwhile, is leading Cal with 10 points and First Team All-Pac-10 selection Ryan Anderson has just six as we go under the four-minute mark here at Staples.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- In the early going here it's been Cal and Washington battling back and forth and staying right with each other along with the way.

But the Huskies just separated themselves for a bit by scoring three straight times down the floor to gain a 26-20 lead.

Cal coach Ben Braun has just taken a timeout to quiet the crowd and get his team to regrouped after two stellar plays by sophomore forward Quincy Pondexter, who is having a nice game in his native state after attending high school in Fresno, Calif.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- With a little less than 12 minutes left in the first half at Staples Center, it's Washington holding a slight 15-11 lead on Cal.

Sitting next to the Cal bench, I've got to watch Ben Braun work the sidelines a little bit and you can he's been a little bit frustrated with the way the Bears have been executing on offense.

Cal's defense, meanwhile, continues to do a decent job against the Huskies, who haven't got a lot of good looks early on but have been able to get inside. The Bears, on the other hand, have had some nice opportunities around the goal but have had shots rim out on them.

We'll see how the rest of this half plays out as both teams desperately want to win this one and give UCLA a hard time in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LOS ANGELES -- We're about three minutes in to our first game here at Staples Center, and it's Cal deadlocked with Washington early on.

Ryan Anderson has given the Bears a boost with a couple nice moves, but the Huskies' Quincy Pondexter just knocked down a three from the left wing to tie things up at 6-6 during the first media timeout with 15:49 left in the first half.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)