Page One

Bears get Braun his 100th win

The Associated Press
Friday December 07, 2001

Joe Shipp scored a career-high 24 points and led California to a 88-63 victory over Saint Louis on Thursday night. 

In the first meeting between the two teams at Cal in 30 years, Shipp led four players in double figures as Solomon Hughes added 16 points, Brian Wethers scored 13 and Jamal Sampson scored 10. 

“Joe Shipp, more than just with his scoring, did a great job on defense,” Cal head coach Ben Braun said. “He showed you what he can do in those in between ranges.”  

Ben Braun won his 100th game as coach at Cal and the Bears won their 15th straight home game vs. a nonconference opponent. Cal (5-1) made 16 of its first 22 shots to start the second half en route to its most lopsided win of the season. 

Jason Edwin scored 14 and Marque Perry added 12 for the Billikens (2-5), who lost their third straight game. They hadn’t lost by more than five in any game this season. 

The Bears closed the half with a 10-2 run, seven scored by Shipp, to take a 36-33 halftime lead. The Billikens had up to a six-point lead behind Edwin, who made 4-of-5 3-point attempts in scoring 14 first-half points. 

Cal broke the game open with a 20-5 run in the middle of the third quarter to go up 67-42. Shipp made 9 of 14 from the field and Hughes was 8-for-10 as the Bears shot a season-best .525 percent. Their previous high point total was 71. 

The Bears were coming off a 79-59 defeat at South Florida, their worst loss to a team outside the Pac-10 since dropping a 88-66 decision to Saint Louis on Nov. 29, 2000. The Billikens were coming off a 69-67 loss to second-ranked Missouri on Monday. 

Braun became the fourth coach to win 100 games at Cal. The others were Nibs Price, Pete Newell and Lou Campanelli. Braun, who took over in 1999, is 100-62 at Cal. 

“I’m proud of that. It means I’ve been staying around long enough,” Braun said. “More than wins, my goal has been to make my teams winners, and we did that tonight. We gave a committed effort. I really feel good about that with this team.”