BEARS GO AHEAD BY 17, THEN SURVIVE ARIZONA'S RALLY  2/12/95

By DON BOSLEY
McClatchy News Service

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Don't ask. We have no idea.

If there were an NCAA championship for the nonsensical, you can hand that
baby to Cal right now. No matter how you slice it, the Bears just don't
figure. And never was that clearer than Sunday, when Doc Jekyll himself made
an appearance at McKale Center and stunned ninth-ranked Arizona 74-72.

Three days after being blown out by Arizona State, eight days after extending
a six-game homecourt losing streak, and 15 days after upsetting UCLA at
Pauley Pavilion, the Bears pulled their latest about-face when K.J. Roberts
hit a 12-foot jumper over Damon Stoudamire in the lane with 1.2 seconds
remaining.

''I don't have any explanation for what just happened,'' said Cal coach Todd
Bozeman, sounding a refrain that has become synonymous with his team.

''We've been hearing rumors that we're a schizophrenic team,'' said Cal guard
Anwar McQueen, who obviously has some reliable sources.

Even Roberts' shot failed to seal the deal completely. Senior Monty Buckley
intercepted Arizona's fullcourt inbound pass a moment later, but he hit the
floor running in celebration. His travel gave Arizona the ball out of bounds
on the side with one second left. Only backside harassment from Cal's Randy
Duck prevented Joe Blair from gaining control of the ensuing baseline lob.

''I was already headed to the locker room (when Buckley traveled),'' McQueen
said. ''It didn't matter. It just meant we had to do the job defensively one
more time.''

The likelihood of Cal (12-8, 4-7) winning here was so far-fetched as to be
implausible -- which, of course, is why it was entirely plausible. Just
Thursday, ASU had blown past the Bears for 15 layups and 12 dunks en route to
a 100-81 win in Tempe.

What's more, no visiting team had won two straight at McKale in eight years;
Cal beat the Wildcats here in overtime last season 98-93. This time, the
Bears' young lineup -- featuring four freshmen and three sophomores in the
regular rotation -- seemed quite ill-suited to handle the din created by
14,257 Arizona partisans.

Even after the Bears led by 17 with 15:15 to go, Arizona pulled into a 61-61
tie at the 6:04 mark. Even after the Bears sprinted back in front by eight,
Arizona tied it 72-72 on Blair's putback with 13.9 seconds to go.

That's when Bozeman turned to Roberts, a junior guard who hadn't scored a
point in the game, and told him to take the game-winning shot. Roberts
dribbled out at the point while the clock ran down, blew out a long sigh at
about the eight-second mark, then ducked his head and made past Stoudamire to
the lane. His slightly off-balance jumper hit all nylon.

''Just for Coach Bozeman to put me in at a time like that really gave me
confidence,'' Roberts said. ''I knew if I could get into the paint, I'd be
able to jump on (the 5-foot-10 Stoudamire).''

Until then, Roberts had gone 0 for 4 from the field and played just 13
minutes. Bozeman inserted him for Jelani Gardner just before the shot,
believing Stoudamire's quickness had been giving Gardner too many problems.
Arizona coaches didn't care much who was running the point for Cal. They were
busy trying to take away the Bears' more obvious offensive options.

''We were more concerned with Buckley, (Tremaine) Fowlkes or Duck, frankly,''
Wildcats coach Lute Olson said. ''The shot Roberts hit was not an easy shot,
but he hit it.''

He hit it over Stoudamire, a consensus All-American who has had better days.
Hounded by McQueen and occasionally by Roberts and Duck, Stoudamire hit just
4 of 19 shots and finished with 15 points. Cal effectively cut down
Stoudamire's penetration, forcing him to take 15 of his 19 shots from the
three-point arc.

''I think in the second half he was getting worn out a little,'' McQueen
said.

So while Arizona (18-5, 8-3) slipped a full game behind UCLA in the Pac-10
standings -- with a visit to Pauley scheduled for next Saturday -- the Bears
leaped Oregon State into seventh place.

Cal, which sandwiched its victories at Pauley and McKale around two home
losses to the Oregon schools, visits 15th-ranked Stanford on Wednesday night.



CAL-ARIZONA NOTES -- To be sure, the Bears had their share of breaks Sunday.
Blair blew an uncontested, low-speed dunk after a gorgeous behind-the-back
pass from Reggie Geary in the second half. And two technical fouls -- one on
Olson, another on Blair -- led to three converted Cal free throws. ... Ray
Owes' 20 points led Arizona. ... Cal was more balanced, with Duck scoring 14,
Fowlkes 13, Buckley 12 and McQueen 11. The Bears also had four players with
at least three assists, led by Gardner's five.