Cal's Hardin takes it out on Oregon State
January 13, 2008
In the first six minutes of Cal's 69-59 win over Oregon State on Saturday afternoon, senior center DeVon Hardin blocked two shots, dived to grab a defensive rebound and drew a charge.
"DeVon's been waiting for a game like this to come out and show everybody how athletic he is and how he can really affect the team," said sophomore forward Ryan Anderson, who had a game-high 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. "In away games, he can really take the crowd out of it and swing the momentum our way."
By the time Hardin was done setting the tone in front of 4,118 mostly quiet fans at Gill Coliseum, Cal led 14-4. By the time the Bears (11-4, 2-2) dominated Pac-10 doormat Oregon State (6-10, 0-4) for the majority of 40 minutes, he had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
In winning in Corvallis for the 11th time in 12 tries under coach Ben Braun, Cal limited the Beavers to 32.9 percent shooting from the floor - a season-low for a Cal opponent - and led for all but 1 1/2 minutes. The Bears overcame 16 turnovers by recording assists on 17 of 23 field goals and made up for Oregon State's 20 offensive rebounds with Hardin's ability to alter put-back attempts.
Hardin's solid outing followed his lethargic, two-point, four-rebound effort in Thursday's 79-70 loss at Oregon.
"I had to redeem myself," Hardin said. "I was disappointed in my performance Thursday night, and I wanted to prove to my teammates that I haven't given up and I was going to come out and play."
Braun sent a message to Hardin on Friday, promising that reserve forwards Harper Kamp and Jamal Boykin would start playing more minutes.
"Our coaching staff and our players never doubted DeVon," Braun said. "I'm proud of his effort, his attitude and him accepting the challenge. I thought he set the tone of the game and brought his energy, and when he does that, we're a better team."
Cal is 11-1 when Hardin blocks two or more shots, and it is 3-3 when he has one or none. Hardin got the message and responded with teammate-igniting energy and game-changing athleticism.
"I knew what coach was saying and that he was challenging me," Hardin said. "That's what he's good at doing, getting me going."
Cal jumped to a 14-4 lead only to see Oregon State respond with an 18-2 run, taking the lead on a Josh Tarver jumper and extending it to 22-16. During the stretch, the Beavers made 8 of 9 shots, meaning they shot only 25.4 percent in the other 36 minutes.
With Hardin and Anderson back in the game, the Bears reeled off a 15-0 run in the next two minutes to pull back ahead 31-22. The run started with two Anderson three-pointers and one by senior forward Eric Vierneisel in a 47-second span.
Cal continued its control in the second half, starting the half on a 19-11 run that gave it a 55-37 lead on a trio of Nikola Knezevic free throws at the 10:49 mark. Oregon State cut the lead to eight twice in the final minute against a Bears' unit that appeared to have lost a little interest.
The urgency, however, was there long enough. Trying to prove a point and salvage a road split after the uninspired effort against Oregon, Cal players were often the first to chase down loose balls and the first to dive on the floor.
Sophomore guards Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher each had 11 points for Cal, and Oregon State was led by Marcel Jones and Seth Tarver, who combined for 23 points.
"It was very important, not only to win it, but to win it in the style we did," Hardin said. "To go out there and show how well Cal can do was pretty important for our team."
