Cal Puts It All Together in 85-63 Victory Over BYU

Roy Fisher scored 23 points as the Bears defeated Brigham Young, 85-63, before a capacity crowd Saturday night at Harmon Gym.

The loss was BYU’s most lopsided since a 30-point defeat by Villanova during the 1984-85 season.

The team that usually wins with wise, steady play tripped over its game plan. Despite modest talent, BYU came to Berkeley with a 9-1 record, built on its typically efficient offense.

Against Cal, the efficiency took a break. The Bears started three guards, slapped on a full-court press from the opening tap and took a 22-12 lead.

BYU never came closer than nine points thereafter. That reduced first-year Coach Roger Reid to a terse, simplistic postgame analysis.

“They played better than we did,” Reid said. “They executed better, outrebounded us, everything. Evidently, they were better than about nine other teams we’ve faced.”

Cal (7-2), like the Cougars, has played a pre-New Year’s schedule full of soft foes. But there are increasing signs that these Bears will survive the transition from pass-the-ball-to-Leonard Taylor (last season) to let’s-fill-the-court-with-small-guys (this season). A lot of those signs came Saturday night.

Along with the 6-foot-7 Fisher, guards Keith Smith (22 points) and Ryan Drew (16) also contributed heavily to the victory. The guards, in addition to making 26 three-point shots, also repeatedly harassed the Cougars on defense.