Jarred Hyder

As Figueroa yelled in Bradley’s face, there was nothing the guard could do but smirk and inbound the ball. It was a perfect metaphor for the ballgame.

A small blue and gold spark came about too little, too late, as the Bears fell 76-70 to their rival Stanford and emerged winless from the season series.

Anticevich continued his hot streak, and Brown set a career-high on six-for-eight shooting, but the Trojans were able to stay just ahead of the Bears.

Cal was just a few plays away from earning a victory on the national stage over a ranked UCLA team — a team that routed the Bears earlier this season.

Playing in Salt Lake City against a Utes squad that was fresh off of a win against Stanford, the Bears pulled out a 72-63 victory — their first win outside of Berkeley and second conference triumph of the season.

All signs point to this being the blue and gold’s most difficult matchup of 2020. Cal has not fared well in conference play this season, dropping contests to Arizona State and UCLA.

Cal came out of the locker room looking like a completely different team. The Bears traded baskets with the Redhawks and everyone on the team was contributing.

The blue and gold look to turn their third consecutive home game into their third consecutive win after starting just 2-4.

Despite two team leaders being out of the lineup, Fox’s players knew what had to be done and did it well: 11 Bears scored on the day, including three in double figures.

The addition of two nonconference matchups to Cal’s schedule offers the perfect opportunity for the Bears to integrate Hyder into the lineup.