CAL WINS ONE AT THE LINE HUSKIES FALL: BEARS SINK 31 OF 40 FREE THROWS -- AND HAVE 84-76 VICTORY TO SHOW FOR THEM. By JOHN AKERS Mercury News Staff Writer SEATTLE -- Square up, bend the knees, and aim for the front of the rim. There's nothing to making a free throw. Cal players ought to make far more than they miss. When they do, the game becomes easy. When the Bears make their free throws, When they do, the game becomes easy. When the Bears make their free throws, they can survive an opponent's late rally, commit too many turnovers and watch a third injured player go to the sideline alongside his two teammates wearing suit coats. The 17th-ranked Bears beat Washington 84-76 Saturday because they made 31 of 40 free throws, just two nights after a 12-for-32 disaster led to an 83-71 loss at Washington State. ''Coach (Todd Bozeman) just said that we're going to beat the monster,'' said forward Monty Buckley, who led the Bears with a career-high 26 points and was 12 for 15 from the line. ''This is the start of something good, hopefully.'' There's still work to be done. The Bears (8-2, 1-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference) entered the game as 56.6 percent free-throw shooters, last in the Pac-10, and still are shooting only 59.3 percent. They made more than 75 percent of their free throws for the first time in 15 games, dating to February. ''There's no magic to it,'' Bozeman said. ''I didn't harp on it too much. We practiced the way we always practice. I didn't want to put too much pressure on it. You give us those free throws in any other game, we could be undefeated.'' They'd be 7-3 if they shot free throws Saturday as they usually do. The Bears saw an 18-point second-half lead to slip to 76-69 with 2 minutes, 6 seconds remaining on a 33-22 run by the Huskies (4-6, 0-2). The Bears handled the Huskies' man-to-man defensive pressure better than most teams do, scoring more points than any team has against Washington. But Cal, which got off 24 fewer shots than the Huskies, succumbed to the pressure late in the game, committing six of its 19 turnovers during the Huskies' run. At times, Bozeman thought the Huskies were getting away with too much pressure. When a foul was called on a Husky late in the game, he let out one ''whooooo!'' and then another that could be heard throughout Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Then Bozeman pointed and jawed at Pac-10 supervisor of officials Booker Turner, sitting across the court from him. Turner responded, pointing and saying something that got lost in the crowd noise. The Bears were playing shorthanded, because center Ryan Jamison turned his left ankle after playing only five minutes. Michael Stewart, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, was then their only center, because Sean Marks missed the game because of a sprained ankle and power forward Alfred Grigsby, who could play center in a pinch, was out because of a sore hamstring. Jamison will see doctors today; Bozeman said Jamison turned the ankle ''pretty bad.'' Grigsby said he doubted he would be able to play this week. Marks is the most likely of the three to play. Stewart was fairly effective inside, with seven points and eight rebounds. Freshman Tony Gonzalez, a 6-6, 235-pound power forward who also starts at tight end on the football team, added further muscle by scoring 14 points, his high, and bowling over at least that many Huskies. ''I call him a barbarian,'' Buckley said. Gonzalez said most teams probably dismiss him as a football player trying to play basketball. ''It doesn't bother me, though,'' he said. ''That way, they overlook me.'' His cover is blown as the competition becomes tougher. The Bears' next three games will be against No. 9 Arizona, No. 15 Arizona State and No. 23 Stanford, beginning at home Thursday with the Wildcats.