Cal Basketball: Bears Keep Their Eye on the Ball to Topple Cal State Bakersfield

The Bears (2-1) led by 15 points at halftime and maintained a comfortable double-digit margin over Bakersfield (1-2) the rest of the way.

The flip side was a propensity for fouling the Roadrunners.

Cal sent Bakersfield to the free-throw line for 20 first-half foul shots and the visitors attempted 13 more over the final 20 minutes. The result was less painful than it might have been because the Roadrunners missed 13 of their 33 attempts.

The fouls forced Madsen to shuffle his lineup as big man Fardaws Aimaq fouled out with 5:57 left after posting 14 points and seven rebounds. ND Okafor, his backup, and Grant Newell each were whistled for four fouls and Tyson and Askew collected three apiece.

The Bears were coming off a disappointing 87-79 loss to Pacific — the Tigers’ first win over Cal since 1954 — in which the visitors shot 13 of 26 from beyond the 3-point arc. Bakersfield was far less prolific, hitting 5 of 12.

Cone, the Northern Arizona transfer, shot 7-for-13 from deep to record his second straight game of at least 20 points. In the video at the top of the story he alludes to his 2-for-6 long-distance shooting performance vs. St. Thomas in the season opener.

Cal finished 15 for 36 on 3's.

Tyson, who came to Cal from Texas Tech, overcame a rough (4-for-15) shooting night to stuff the stat sheet with 13 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Askew, wearing protective sun-glass goggles after getting poked in the eye against Pacific, scored 12 points, dished four of Cal’s 18 assists and helped keep the Bears organized on offense. He was plus-24 in the plus-minus stat column.

Askew said he wore the shades because his eye remains sensitive to light.

Madsen talks in the video above about what Askew went through to be on the floor Monday night.

Grant Newell contributed 10 points and eight rebounds and Okafor played with energy and grabbed seven rebounds in his 16 minutes on the floor.

Memphis transfer Keonte Kennedy, who still has not played because of an upper-extremity injury, will join the Bears "soon," according to Madsen.

The current play for freshman Devin Curtis is to have the 6-foot-11 forward redshirt this season, Madsen added.

Kaleb Higgins scored 22 points for the Roadrunners, who had beaten Cal the past two times they visited.