Chris Bell’s career night helped second-seeded Cal extinguish Illinois-Chicago 91-73 in the first round of the NIT’s Albuquerque region Wednesday night in Berkeley, Calif.
Bell’s career-best 31 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field, including 7 of 8 from behind the arc, was more than enough for the Bears (22-11) in front of their home crowd. Justin Pippen chipped in 18 points and six assists while John Camden had 13 points.
The Flames (19-16) put up a valiant effort but it wasn’t enough. Rashund Washington Jr. had 15 points and six rebounds, while Abdul Momoh and Elijah Crawford each had 14 points.
Crawford finished with a game-high 12 assists.
Cal extended its lead to double digits for the first time on a step-back 3-pointer from Pippen with 12:18 left to push the lead to 59-48.
The Flames made the game more manageable with a 10-2 run capped by a tip-in second-chance layup from Mekhi Lowery to cut the deficit to 63-60 with 7:25 left.
But the Bears used an 18-9 run to put the game out of reach, with Washington and Bell hitting 3s to make it 81-69 with 3:17 to go.
Cal shot 32-for-57 (56.1%) from the field and 15-for-28 from 3-point range (53.6%). UIC couldn’t hang from deep, shooting just 4 of 15 (26.7%). The Flames shot 50.9% overall (29-for-57).
The Flames jumped out to a nine-point lead after holding Cal to 2-for-8 shooting to start the game. Crawford hit a 3-pointer and Lowery hit a layup on the break to bring the lead to 15-6 with 14:34 left in the first half.
The Bears made nine of their next 13 shots to cut the deficit to 30-28 after a jumper from Bell.
Cal used a 9-0 scoring run right before the half to take its first lead, closed by a fastbreak 3 from Bell with 61 seconds left. Washington made a dunk for UIC with 25 seconds left to make it 39-35 Cal at the break.
Bell made 5 of 6 shots in the first half to lead the Bears with 13 points, while Crawford paced the Flames with 10.
