Here's Something No One Saw Coming: Down 20 Points, Cal Rallies Past Colorado

This was a game Cal fans watching on TV at home might have switched off by halftime.

Big mistake.

Down by as many as 20 points in the opening half, the Bears found their defense and got a career-high 30 points from Jaylon Tyson to roar back for a remarkable 82-78 victory at Haas Pavilion — their biggest comeback in 15 years.

Four days after beating UCLA at Pauley Pavilion for the first time in 14 years, Cal (6-10, 2-3 Pac-12) gave an exuberant crowd of 2,258 a reason to stand and cheer.

“We are going to have many more wins that are impressive over skilled opponents. This is the start,” first-year coach Mark Madsen said. “I know we’re going to hit a pothole or two, but I’ll tell you this, we’re going to fight, fight, fight every step of the way.”

The Bears displayed little fight early, trailing 10-0, 20-6 and 40-20 in the first half. They were down 40-26 at the break and didn’t get their first lead until Tyson flushed a driving two-handed dunk for a 63-62 lead with 5:39 left.

The comeback was the Bears’ biggest since rallying from a 22-point deficit to beat Stanford 82-75 on Feb. 14, 2009, according to Cal athletics.

Tyson scored 23 points in the second half, 16 in the final 11 minutes to topple the Buffaloes (11-5, 2-3). He shot 10 for 15 from the field, made all seven of his free throws and connected on three of Cal’s 14 3-point baskets.

It was the fifth straight game the Texas Tech transfer has scored at least 20 points, the longest such streak by a Cal player since Sean Lampley did it in January of 2001.

Madsen called Tyson “one of the best players in the country.”

“Man, JT is special,” teammate Jalen Cone said. “He’s a first-round draft pick — sooner or later people are going to recognize that. He was phenomenal for us. The team came together on the defensive end and on the offensive end he led the way and he didn’t disappoint.”

Tyson, now averaging 20.7 points, said he’s feeling a level of confidence from his coaches and teammates he’s ever experienced.

“Everybody believes in me so when coach Madsen draws up that play for me, everybody knows what’s going to happen,” he said. “That’s the most confidence I’ve ever had.

“Adversity’s the biggest thing with this team. We kept fighting, they believed in me and we came out with the win.”

Cone, who scored 17 points and made three clutch free throws in the final 12 seconds to help ice the win, said the locker room was a celebration.

“Down 20 versus a good team like Colorado that was (18th) in the Top-25 earlier this year, just to be able to do what we just did . . . emotions were everywhere,” he said. “Guys were just excited we got this win but wins like that mean more when it’s a unit, when everybody plays their part.”

Everybody did make a contribution, many of them in ways not reflected in the stat sheet. After allowing the Buffaloes to shoot 58 percent in the first half, the Bears held them to 42 percent the final 20 minutes.

Madsen said the determination his team displayed took him back to his days with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“It can prove to the guys the simple principle that no matter what happens keep on working, keep on fighting because the tide can turn at any moment,” he said. “One of my mentors, Tex Winter — who was really Phil Jackson’s right-hand man — he would always say, `In the game of basketball, everything can turn on a trifle.”