JUST LIKE OLD TIMES FOR CAL 

VICTORY OVER USC HAS FAMILIAR LOOK 

By JOHN AKERS 
Mercury News Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES -- Those guys in blue and gold sure looked familiar. Could they
have been the old Cal Bears, the ones who ran and trapped and had been
missing for more than a month?

It sure looked like it. These Bears made 50 percent of their shots, rebounded
with authority and chose their moments with their zone trap Thursday night,
adding up to a 76-58 victory over Southern Cal.

This might have been the Bears' best performance since their 89-76 victory
over Cincinnati, way back on Dec. 21.

''Maybe, yeah,'' said Cal forward Monty Buckley, who led the Bears with 22
points. ''That's the last time we had a good game.''

The Bears had much to show for their victory. Jelani Gardner, a freshman
guard from St. John Bosco High in the L.A. area, had 13 assists, the
fourth-highest total in Cal history and the most by anyone other than Jason
Kidd. The Trojans' 18-point loss was their worst at the Sports Arena in six
seasons. And USC's 31.1 percent shooting from the field was the lowest by a
Cal opponent this season.

But the most significant statistic probably was the one minute played by
power forward Alfred Grigsby, who had missed the previous six games and most
of last season because of a back problem that led to a hamstring injury.

''Al played the greatest one minute I've ever seen,'' Cal Coach Todd Bozeman
said. ''It meant more than people will know to have him on the floor, even in
practice yesterday.''

On Wednesday, Grigsby met with an L.A. doctor who told him that the injury
wouldn't get any worse if he continued to play. He could play if he could
stand the pain. He was there for practice that day, unannounced.

''His condition hasn't changed,'' Bozeman said. ''He'll give what he can. If
it's a minute, it's great. If it's on the sideline talking to guys, it's
great.''

Cal's theme going into the game was to make basketball fun again. Bozeman
said he had noticed that it was being played too seriously. He no doubt got
caught up in that attitude Sunday at Northridge State, when he took a swing
at Northridge State's athletic-events manager. Bozeman had a security guard
with him Thursday night.

''In the second half at Northridge, we realized we needed to play with fun
and not take it so seriously,'' Gardner said. ''When we do, we're a good
team. When we don't, we're a below average team.''

''We started to put a lot of pressure on ourselves,'' Buckley said, ''and we
weren't playing the way we wanted to play.''

For all but about four minutes, these were the Bears of old.

They pressed, creating steals by Gardner and Randy Duck that led to layups.
Guard K.J. Roberts, who injured a shoulder last Friday in practice, suited up
and took a seat next to Grigsby for at least symbolic purposes.

The Bears even made free throws, for a while. They made 13 of their first 15,
then missed six of their next eight.

The final four minutes of the first half were a reminder of more recent
times, which included losses in five of seven games.

The Bears turned the ball over in six of their last nine possessions,
allowing a 22-13 lead to slip to 33-27 at halftime. But when the Trojans
pulled to within 33-31 in the second half, Buckley took over and scored 13
points over a four-minute stretch.

So, would he declare that the Bears of old were back and ready for their next
game, at No. 4 UCLA?

''We'll see Saturday,'' Buckley said. ''(Tonight) tells a lot, but you can't
rest and say we're back, or we'll be back in the tank. We have to put another
good game together, or we'll be blown out by UCLA.''