Cal Goes Wire-to-Wire to Beat UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, Ending Several Droughts

“It’s a little bit of relief,” Tyson said in a phone interview. "We knew it was going to come soon. We knew we were going to get over that hump. Now we’ve got to build on this. We’ve got to turn it into two (wins), turn it into three.”

But Tyson said ending streaks he and most of his teammates had no part in really was never the focus.

“It means something to make history, but it means more for the team to win this one.”

Big man Fardaws Aimaq, on his 25th birthday, overcame foul trouble to post his 10th double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

Jalen Cone, the Pac-12’s most prolific 3-point shooter, made just one of his first eight attempts from deep but hit a decisive 3-pointer with 1:16 left off a pass from Tyson to gave the Bears some separation at 64-55.

“Jalen Cone’s 3 was huge,” Madsen said.

Tyson said the Bears never loses belief in the transfer from Northern Arizona, who three times this season has made seven 3’s in a game.

“That’s what happens with great shooters — you go through shooting slumps,” Tyson said. “Look at Steph Curry and Klay Thompson — they go through slumps all the time. The best shooters in the world keep having confidence and move onto the next shot.”

Madsen had high praise for Tyson, who entered the game averaging 19.9 points and assembled his 10th game of at least 20 points, his fourth in a row.

“I told Jaylon Tyson the way he controlled the tempo down the stretch reminded me of an NBA point guard. He was fantastic,” Madsen said. “He had some key attacks to the rim, he had some phenomenal passes when he drew a double team. His composure was so strong.”

The reality is Tyson is a wing player forced to become the Bears' chief offensive facilitator because Devin Askew, the team's only true veteran point guard, was again sidelined by a nagging foot injury.

Tyson made his first seven shots in the second half, including a high arcing shot off the backboard on a drive then a floater from the lane after picking up a loose ball, those two stretching Cal’s lead to 59-46 with 4:48 left.

“I work on those shots every day,” he said. “That goes back to the confidence they have in me. Every time when it comes down to the last 10 minutes, they tell me, `You’re the guy. You’re the best player on the court.’ I go out there and act like I’m the best player on the court.”

The Bears got it done by playing perhaps their best defensive game of the season, albeit against a UCLA team that ranks last in the Pac-12 in scoring. The Bruins (6-9 1-3) were making just 29 percent of their 3-point tries, so Cal defended the paint and was willing to live with the consequences.

“We really tried to pack the paint, knowing they haven’t shot it as well yet this year,” Madsen said. “We said let’s take one thing away — we decided to take the paint away.”

It worked. UCLA shot 2 for 10 from beyond the arc while the Bears were 8 for 20.

“We just stuck to the game plan,” Tyson said. “I feel like this game we played almost 40 minutes hard. Every mistake we made, we covered up the mistakes. That was the biggest thing.”

A component of defense is rebounding, especially after a missed shot by the opposition, and the Bears not only won the battle of the boards 39-29, they held UCLA to six offensive rebounds and just nine second-chance points.

Tyson said Aimaq — the Pac-12’s leading rebounder — was a big reason for that success.

“I’ve been with him for two years now, that’s my brother,” said Tyson, who played with Aimaq last season at Texas Tech. “He’s just a monster down there. We feel like he’s the best big in America. He rebounds like no other. He’s a big-time player.”

The Bears return to action Wednesday against Colorado at Haas Pavilion. Tipoff is 8 p.m.