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Eastern Washington shocks No. 10 St. Joseph’s in BCA Classic opener 

Four players scored in double figures, led by 15 points from junior forward Joe Shipp, as Cal opened the 2001-02 basketball season with a 70-58 victory over Princeton in the first round of the BCA Classic Thursday night in Haas Pavilion.  

The Bears advance to play Eastern Washington, an upset winner over No. 10 Saint Joseph’s, for the championship Friday at 8:30 p.m. St. Joe’s meets Princeton in the consolation game at 6 p.m.  

Cal and Princeton battled back and forth early in the game. With the Tigers ahead 11-10, the Bears scored eight consecutive points to open a 17-11 advantage. The lead ballooned to 32-16 at the 6:05 mark and Cal entered the locker room up 44-28 on Shantay Legans’ 35-foot shot at the buzzer.  

In the second half, Cal pushed its lead to 20 points at 51-31 and kept the margin above 15 points until the closing minutes. The Bears’ largest lead was 64-41 with 6:48 left.  

Cal remained patient with Princeton’s famously deliberate style and capitalized on strong shooting, especially from the outside. The Bears made 7-of-13 shots from three-point range in the first half and shot 51.9 from the field for the game.  

“I don’t think that the average fan knows how much preparation went into this game,” Cal head coach Ben Braun said. “Princeton is a very smart team. You’ll see that team when a lot of basketball games this year.” 

In addition to Shipp, who also had four rebounds and four assists, Ryan Forehan-Kelly and Dennis Gates came off the bench for 11 points apiece and freshman Jamal Sampson finished with 10 points and five rebounds in his Cal debut.  

“Both Dennis Gates and Ryan Forehan-Kelly are playing as well as anybody right now,” Braun said. “If we can continue to get that kind of play off the bench, we’ll be doing pretty good.”  

Konrod Wysocki paced Princeton with 17 points.  

In the first game of the tournament, Eastern Washington edged St. Joe’s, 68-67. St. Joe’s had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Delonte West missed the second of two free throws with three seconds remaining.