ALABAMA HANDS CAL ITS FIRST DEFEAT 12/30/94 By DENNIS GEORGATOS Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. -- Jelani Gardner had the ball swiped from his grasp by Artie Griffin before he could try a game-tying shot, and Alabama beat No. 14 California 76-73 in overtime for the championship of the Otis Spunkmeyer Classic on Thursday night. Cal had a chance to win with no time left in regulation, but Tony Gonzalez, who made a layup at the buzzer and was fouled, missed the free throw, hitting the back rim. Marvin Orange made one of two free throws to give Alabama a 74-70 lead with with 43 seconds left in overtime, but Monty Buckley hit a 3-point basket to pull Cal to 74-73 with 27 seconds remaining. With the Golden Bears pressing on the inbounds pass, Alabama failed to get the ball into play and the ball went to the Bears. K.J. Roberts missed a driving a layup and the Crimson Tide got the rebound. Jim Passink was fouled and made both free throws for Alabama's final points. With just over eight seconds, Gardner put up an air ball from 3-point range, but Alabama had another turnover on the inbounds pass when Jason Caffey's throw went out of bounds. So Cal got the ball back with seven seconds left. But as Gardner tried to dribble into position for the 3-point try, Griffin picked him clean and Alabama (7-2) had handed Cal (7-1) its first loss of the year. ---- IN OVERTIME, ALABAMA SENDS CAL TO 1ST LOSS By JOHN AKERS Mercury News Staff Writer OAKLAND -- It took an overtime, but Cal lost for the first time this season, 76-73 to Alabama in the championship game of the Otis Spunkmeyer Classic. The Crimson Tide took the lead for good at 69-66 with 2 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in overtime Thursday night. With the score tied 66-66, Antonio McDyess made the first of two free throws and Jason Caffey grabbed the rebound and put in the follow shot. Cal freshman Jelani Gardner attempted two three-pointers in the final 17 seconds, trying to tie the score, but the first was wild and on the second the ball was stripped by Artie Griffin. Regulation ended in a 64-64 tie. The Bears trailed 64-62 with 4.9 seconds remaining and had the ball at their far end of the court. K.J. Roberts dribbled the length of the floor and bounce passed to Tony Gonzalez, who made the layup as he was fouled by McDyess. But Gonzalez, a 52-percent free-throw shooter, missed the shot that would have won the game. The loss prevented the 14th-ranked Bears (7-1) from getting off to their best start since the 1959-'60 team that went 9-0 on its way to a 28-2 season and a runner-up finish in the NCAA tournament. The Crimson Tide is 7-2. In the consolation game, senior center Kurt Thomas scored 19 points to lead Texas Christian (6-3) to a 66-64 victory over Columbia (2-6). Junior forward Boris Piskun led the Lions with tournament records for points (26) and rebounds (18).