BearTalk

A bit weary of the questions but to the point, Cal coach Mike Montgomery opened his media session Monday by letting us know sophomore Allen Crabbe and senior Hamp Kamp are both fine, will practice and play this week when the Bears travel to USC and UCLA.

“No injury report. Nothing. I’ve got a full squad today,” Montgomery said.

I spoke briefly with Crabbe, who said his right foot is feeling good. He did not sprain an ankle, but had some soreness in his foot last week, which is gone. “I’m fine,” he said.

Unlike last week, he wore no protective boot, and was walking normally.

Kamp, who jammed or sprained a finger, also is OK.

Both had X-rays Saturday after the Arizona State game, and all was  normal.

Elsewhere . . .

   – A home loss to Arizona and home victory over lowly ASU dropped the Bears from No. 30 last week in the official NCAA RPI rankings to No. 48. Ouch. Next Pac-12 team is Arizona, which rocketed from No. 85 to 62.

   — Arizona senior guard Kyle Fogg, who scored 23 points at Cal and14 at Stanford in a pair of victories, was named Pac-12 Player of the Week,

   — The Pac-12 extended the contract of Commission Larry Scott through 2016, with options to add additional years.

Former Cal star Aaron Rodgers was a runaway winner of the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award. Here’s the story.

Freshman Brittany Boyd tied her career-high with 19 points and equaled a school record with 10 steals, leading the Cal women past host Arizona State 67-62 in a battle for second place in the Pac-10 standings.

The Bears (17-6, 8-3) remain alone in second.

Boyd, a guard from Berkeley High, also had six rebounds and six assists. With 11 seconds left and Cal leading 64-61, Boyd turned her last steal into a layup that stretched the lead to five points.

Layshia Clarendon had 16 points and Reshanda Gray scored 13 points for the Bears. Cal sophomore Gennifer Brandon had six points and 13 rebounds in her duel with sister Kimberly Brandon, a senior at ASU, who was held to four points.

The Sun Devils dropped to 15-7, 6-5 in the Pac-12.

POSTGAME: Montgomery dismissed the notion that anything serious is wrong with Crabbe or Kamp. “Just a little sprain and a dislocated finger,” he said. “It’s basketball. Stuff’s going to happen.”

FINAL SCORE: CAL 68, ASU 47: The Bears (18-6, 8-3) retain a share of second place and avenge their first home defeat of the season. Cal is 15-1 at Haas. ASU (7-16, 3-8) had 20 turnovers.

2:45 2nd H: Word from Cal is Crabbe and Kamp are both underdoing X-rays immediately after the game.

2:45 2nd H: Cal leads 65-41. ASU has scored the past seven points after two FTs by Brandon Smith gave the Bears a 65-34 lead. Cal is 18 for 20 from the foul line today and 33 for 36 in two games this week. ASU has 19 turnovers and is shooting 35 percent.

6:56 2nd H: ASU just reached 30 points on two FTs by Kyle Cain. Moments later, Rossi nailed a 3-pointer for a 61-30 lead.

8:48 2nd H: Cal leads 58-28. Crabbe hit a 3-pointer, then was replaced by Alex Rossi. Wondering why he went back at all. He scored 19 points. Gutierrez has 10 points for Call. Kyle Cain has 12 points on 6 for 14 for ASU — the rest of the team is shooting 6 for 25.

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TIPOFF: 2 p.m. Saturday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. TV: CSNCA. Radio: 910-AM.

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A good story on Jorge Gutierrez by Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic.

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Arizona is not as good a team as Missouri or UNLV, two clubs that had their way with the Bears outside the Pac-12. But in terms of style and personnel, the Wildcats presented many of the same problems Cal had with the Tigers and Rebels.

They were physical, aggressive and quick. And because they are not particularly big, they created matchups that were difficult for the Bears to handle in Cal’s 78-74 loss Thursday night.

Seniors Jorge Gutierrez and Harper Kamp handled the Arizona aggression, and gave as much as they took. They combined to shoot 16 for 30 and scored 40 points to go with 15 rebounds.

Their teammates weren’t as good — shooting a combined 13 for 35 and totaling 34 points.

Saturday’s matinee vs. battered Arizona State won’t provide the same kind of test, but there is ample evidence that suggests the Bears may be fortunate not to have a rematch at Arizona (or Missouri or UNLV, for that matter).

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TIPOFF: Cal (16-6, 7-3 Pac-12) at Arizona  State (15-6, 6-4) , Saturday, 1 p.m.  TV: None.

GAME THEME: The Golden Bears are alone in second place after beating Arizona 78-74 in overtime on Thursday, but must beat Arizona State or face the possibility of dropping in a four-way tie for second by the end of the weekend. Cal beat ASU two of three meetings a year ago, but hasn’t won in Tempe since the 2008-09 season. ASU’s best player is 6-foot-2 senior forward Kimberly Brandon, who averages 10.9 points and 7.0 rebounds. Her sister is Cal sophomore Gennifer Brandon, who contributes 9.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

NOTES: Cal averages 70.8 points per game but faces an ASU squad that leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense (52.4 ppg) and field-goal defense (33.4 percent) under interim coach Joseph Anders . . . Cal and ASU are tied for last in 3-point shooting accuracy at 27.7 percent.

NEXT TIME: UCLA at Cal, Thursday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.

Cal made official on Friday the signings of defensive end Maurice Bennett and defensive back Willie Fletcher, giving the Bears a 19-member recuiting class.

Arizona assistant coach Joe Pasternack, who once worked on coach Ben Braun’s staff at Cal, released a statement saying he did not intend to engage Jorge Gutierrez when the the Bears guard tumbled into him on the sideline of Thursday’s Pac-12 Conference game at Haas Pavilion.

Pasternack’s statement:

“I would like to clarify that my actions last night were a reflex in response to a player falling on top of me while running at top speed toward our bench. Prior to my arrival at Arizona and as a former head coach and an assistant coach for eight seasons at the University of California, I have great respect for the Pac-12 Conference, the Cal program and Jorge Gutierrez and the competitiveness he brings to the court. 

“In no way was I deliberately attempting to engage him.  My hope is that this statement will clear up any misconceptions about the incident and that we can move on in a positive fashion Gutierrez was angry as he stood up and one of his teammates later said Gutierrez believed Pasternack was trying to trip him. No technical fouls were called.”

The Cal women blew a 12-point halftime lead against the Pac-12′s last-place team, then escaped with a 78-74 win at Arizona.

The Bears (16-6, 7-3) moved into sole possession of second place after Arizona State (15-6, 6-4) lost 62-49 to No. 4  Stanford. Cal and ASU play Saturday in Tempe.

Reshanda Gray had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Talia Caldwell had 17 and 10, and Layshia Clarendon scored 16 for Cal.

 UW’s home victory is worth sole possession of top spot . . .

   — Washington 71, UCLA: 69:Terrence Ross scored 22 points and the Huskies (15-7, 8-2) beat the Bruins (12-10, 5-5) for the eighth time in their past nine meetings in Seattle. Joshua Smith scored a career-high 24 points to lead UCLA.

   – Colorado 82, Oregon State 60: Sophomore Andre Robertson collected 16 points and 15 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season and the Buffaloes (15-7, 7-3) improved to 6-0 at home in the Pac-12 and moved into a three-way tie for second place. Jared Cunningham scored 12 points for the Beavers (14-8, 4-6).

   – Stanford 68, Arizona State 44: Guards Aaron Bright and Chasson Randle had 16 and 14 points, respectively, leading the Cardinal (16-6, 6-4) past the Sun Devils (7-15, 3-7) at Maples. Stanford snapped a three-game losing streak. Center Jordan Bachynski scored a career-high 20 points for ASU, which played its fifth straight game without leading scorer and rebounder Trent Lockett, sidelined by an ankle sprain.

  – Oregon 79, Utah 68: The Ducks (16-8, 7-3) got 20 points from guard Devoe Joseph and climbed into a three-way tie for second place. The host Utes (5-17, 2-8) were led by Chris Hines with 20 points.

   — Washington State 60, USC 53: Brock Motum scored 26 points and the Cougars (12-10, 4-6) climbed to 4-1 at home in league play. Garrett Jackson led the last-place Trojans (6-17, 1-9) with 15 points.

Elsewhere . . .

   — Former Oakland HS star Damien Lillard, the nation’s leading scorer, poured in 40 points to lift Weber State past Portland State 92-79. Lillard came up one point shy of his career high while topping 30 points for the sixth time this season.

   — One-time Cal bench player D.J. Seeley scored a career-high 28 points, leading Cal State Fullerton to an 83-61 win over over Cal Poly. It ws the eighth time this season Seeley scored at least 20 points.