CAL STUNS MINNESOTA 

BEARS PULL OFF UPSET OF NO. 11 GOPHERS 

By JOHN AKERS 
Mercury News Staff Writer

OAKLAND -- You could say the young, untested Cal Bears came of age
Saturday night, defeating No. 11 Minnesota 82-75 at the Coliseum Arena
with a national ESPN audience watching.

You could say it, but Cal Coach Todd Bozeman wouldn't. To him, the
Bears' victory was just one of many that will be needed for the season
to be considered a success.

''A lot of people put a lot of emphasis on this game. We didn't,''
Bozemansaid. ''Every game is a test for us.''

Until the final minutes, the unranked Bears (5-0) had never led by
more than five points or trailed by more than two.

The Gophers (6-2) grabbed a 61-59 lead with 8 minutes, 3 seconds
remaining on two free throws by Eric Harris. Cal's Ryan Jamison tied
the score 61-61 with a shot from the free-throw line, and a basket by
K.J. Roberts and two freethrows by Jelani Gardner gave the Bears a
65-61 lead. Tony Gonzalez tipped in a missed shot by Monty Buckley
with 1:43 remaining for a 72-65 lead that put the contest out of the
Gophers' reach.

The trapping Bears forced the Gophers to commit 10 turnovers in the
opening 11 minutes. The Bears failed to pull away, though, going five
minutes nearthe end of the half without a field goal and making only 9
of 16 free throws.  They were being outrebounded by the Minnesota
guards, too. Bozeman felt lucky to be holding a 35-33 halftime lead.

''We didn't necessarily play to our capabilities in the first half,
and I challenged them to play what we call Cal basketball,'' Bozeman
said. ''I'm proud of our guys.''

The Bears were far too quick for the Gophers inside, picking up 68 of
their points from forwards and centers.

The most encouraging effort was by Alfred Grigsby, whose 14 points and
six rebounds over 23 minutes marked his most significant effort in more
than two years. He missed most of last season because of back and
hamstring injuries and still is recovering from the latter.

''My biggest concern was my stamina,'' Grigsby said. ''I'm not in the
shape I want to be, but I'm in shape to compete. I just picked up
where I had leftoff.''

Buckley added a season-high 21 points. Freshman forward Tremaine
Fowlkes scored 16 and Jamison 14. Gardner had seven assists.

For the first time this season, Bozeman started a veteran lineup of
seniors Jamison and Buckley, juniors Roberts and Grigsby and sophomore
Randy Duck. Bozeman stayed with them for more than six minutes, the
longest he has gone this season without substituting. The playing time
was less evenly distributed than it had been in previous games, with
only eight players playing more than 10 minutes. Eleven Bears came
into the game averaging atleast 11 minutes of playing time.

This was the first of what likely will be three games against highly
regarded opponents for the Bears over the next two weeks. Cal plays at
No. 17 Cincinnati on Wednesday. Unranked but highly regarded Alabama
is the Bears' likely opponent in the Otis Spunkmeyer Classic's
championship game Dec. 29.

The Gophers lost 91-88 in overtime to Cincinnati last Tuesday, so
Coach Clem Haskins has an idea what to expect from the Bears-Bearcats
matchup.

''It'll be Cincinnati's power against Cal's quickness inside,''
Haskins said.  ''If (Cal) plays like they did against us, they'll be
OK.''

Minnesota guard Voshon Lenard, who returned to the Gophers after being
drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, made only 4 of 16 shots -- including 1
for 10 from three-point range -- and scored 16 points. The Gophers'
late rally was directed more by Lenard's backcourt mate, Townsend Orr,
who scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half.

The Gophers played short-handed, Haskins said.

Forward Jayson Walton, the Gophers' third-leading scorer, had a
stomach virus and played only eight minutes.

David Grim, the sixth man, was hit in the right eye and missed most of
thesecond half.

''But that's no excuse,'' Haskins said. ''That's part of the game.''