Tournament MVP Devon Hardin scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the host California Golden Bears to an 83-76 victory Northeastern in the championship round of the Golden Bear Classic in Berkeley, Calif. The win is the Golden Bears' ninth in the 13-year history of the tournament.
California shot 50.9 percent from the floor overall and converted 20 of 30 free throws, led by a seven of 11 night from the stripe by Hardin and an eight of 10 performance from junior Ayinde Ubaka. Northeastern went to the line just twice on the evening, converting one and shooting 49.2 percent from the floor (32 for 65).
Trailing by six with 3:29 to play in the first half, the Golden Bears scored seven unanswered points on free throws to climb back into the game and take a 35-34 advantage heading into the break. California extended its lead to as many as nine in the second half before the Huskies climbed right back into the game with a 7-0 run at the 11:22 mark to find themselves trailing 59-57 with just over nine to play.
The Huskies closed to within one at 74-73 with 4:22 remaining, but the Bears put the game away with clutch shooting down the stretch, particularly from the line, converting eight of their final 10 free throws.
Senior Jose Juan Barea scored 26 points and dished nine assists for the Huskies, while sophomore Shawn James scored 22 and grabbed nine rebounds to go with six blocks. James made 10 of 14 field goal attempts on the night, including eight of 11 in the second half. Senior Aaron Davis scored 15 points on a six of 10 shooting effort, while junior Bobby Kelly scored eight and recorded five assists. The Huskies attempted a season-high 27 three pointers during the game, making succeeding on 11.
Hardin led the way for the Golden Bears who also received a strong effort from Ubaka who had 21 points and six assists. Senior Richard Midgley scored 14 points and sophomore Omar Wilkes scored 10.
Hardin garnered All-Tournament Team and MVP honors for his performance over the weekend and was joined on the six-man team by teammates Ubaka and Midgley. Both James and Barea took home All-Tournament honors for Northeastern and Cal State Northridge's Mike Efevberha rounded out the field.
The Huskies return to action next Saturday night as they travel to Harrisonburg, Va. for their first-ever CAA league contest. They face off against the James Madison Dukes beginning at 7 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score
Northeastern vs California Golden Bears
11-26-05 7:30 at Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, CA
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VISITORS: Northeastern 4-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
21 James, Shawn........ f 10-14 2-3 0-0 3 6 9 5 22 1 1 6 0 30
22 Kelly, Bobby........ f 3-5 2-3 0-0 2 1 3 3 8 5 2 0 0 36
33 Cole, Janon......... c 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 2 1 0 0 20
05 Barea, Jose Juan.... g 11-24 4-11 0-0 0 0 0 3 26 9 4 0 1 34
12 Davis, Aaron........ g 6-10 2-5 1-2 2 3 5 3 15 0 2 0 0 30
04 Cyprian, Chris...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3
11 Martinez, Adrian.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 9
14 Davis, Bennet....... 0-4 0-1 0-0 1 6 7 0 0 1 1 1 1 27
15 Farmer, Jeff........ 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 7
50 Washington, Mark.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 4
TEAM................ 1 1 2 1 1
Totals.............. 32-65 11-27 1-2 11 22 33 22 76 18 15 7 2 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-29 48.3% 2nd Half: 18-36 50.0% Game: 49.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-15 33.3% 2nd Half: 6-12 50.0% Game: 40.7% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-1 100 % 2nd Half: 0-1 0.0% Game: 50.0% 0
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HOME TEAM: California Golden Bears 3-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
02 Wilkes, Omar........ f 5-8 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 10 1 0 0 1 33
24 Robertson, Theo..... f 3-9 2-4 0-2 2 3 5 0 8 2 0 0 1 35
35 Hardin, DeVon....... c 8-13 0-0 7-11 6 8 14 0 23 2 1 1 1 33
01 Ubaka, Ayinde....... g 6-14 1-4 8-10 1 3 4 2 21 6 2 0 2 37
15 Midgley, Richard.... g 5-10 2-3 2-3 0 3 3 3 14 4 3 0 0 37
14 Vierneisel, Eric.... 0-0 0-0 3-4 1 1 2 0 3 0 1 0 1 9
20 Smith, Martin....... 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 4 1 2 0 0 9
31 Pribble, Alex....... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
33 Wilkes, Jordan...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3
TEAM................ 3 3
Totals.............. 29-57 5-12 20-30 11 23 34 8 83 16 10 1 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-26 46.2% 2nd Half: 17-31 54.8% Game: 50.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-5 20.0% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 41.7% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-17 58.8% 2nd Half: 10-13 76.9% Game: 66.7% 5
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Officials: Bruce Hicks, Milt Stowe, Martin Cota
Technical fouls: Northeastern-TEAM. California Golden Bears-None.
Attendance: 7990
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Northeastern.................. 34 42 - 76
California Golden Bears....... 35 48 - 83
ID-413126
Golden Bear Classic championship game
All-Tournament Team: Hardin - MVP (Cal), Ubaka (Cal), Midgley (Cal),
Barea (Northeastern), James (Northeastern), Efevberha (CSUN)
