CAL STRUGGLES, SURVIVES IN SEATTLE 3/10/94 By JIM COUR Associated Press SEATTLE -- Jason Kidd and No. 16 California may have been guilty of looking forward to the NCAA Tournament instead of dealing with Washington. The Golden Bears looked like anything but a high-seeded tournament team Thursday night before coming on in the final three minutes to beat Washington 62-56. Kidd, Cal's sensational sophomore guard, scored 12 points on 2-of- 12 shooting, including 1-for-7 on 3-point attempts. ''It's difficult to keep yourself motivated when you're playing against the bottom half of the league,'' Cal's Lamond Murray said after scoring 20 of his 22 points in the second half. ''This wasn't one of our better games,'' Bears coach Todd Bozeman said. ''I was disappointed with the way we played in the first half. But good teams can win when they play bad.'' Especially against the Huskies, who are suffering through the school's worst basketball season ever. Washington coach Bob Bender said Cal is a much better team than it looked. The Bears beat the Huskies by 15 points in Berkeley on Jan. 8. ''They have a great frame of mind,'' Bender said. ''They can draw on last year's experience.'' Cal (13-4, 22-6) will wind up its regular season at Washington State on Saturday. On Sunday, the Bears are expected to be chosen for the NCAA Tournament field for the second straight season. The Bears can even win the Pac-10 championship in a complicated tiebreaker if Arizona (14-3) loses its last game at Arizona State on Saturday. Maurice Woods led Washington (3-14, 5-21) with 18 points. Amir Rashad added 11. Cal trailed 26-24 at halftime after being behind by as many as 11 points in the opening half. And the Huskies were still in the game after a pair of free throws by Sam Allen tied the score at 49 with 3:08 left. But the Bears scored the next six points on a pair of dunks by Monty Buckley and two free throws by Kidd for a 55-49 lead with 2:11 to go. Scott Didrickson hit a 3-pointer for the Huskies with 1:53 left, but Cal sealed its win on a 12-foot jump shot by Murray and a layup by Akili Jones for a 59-52 lead with 1:12 left. Murray played only nine minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. In the second half, he made 8 of 14 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers. The 22 points left him 24 shy of Kevin Johnson's school-record career total. ''I felt my teammates would try to get the ball to me in the second half and that's what they did,'' Murray said. Washington looked like it was going to score its second upset of the season in the first half. The Huskies beat Arizona in Seattle on Feb. 5. ''We played hard and it felt good,'' Woods said. ''We deserved to win it but we just didn't get it.'' The Huskies had a 14-1 run and led 26-15 after Woods' 12-footer. The run actually featured a five-point play by Washington; a 3 pointer by Jamie Booker and two Woods free throws after he was fouled by Michael Stewart while fighting for rebounding position on the play. Cal went 8:27 between field goals. But the Bears came back and scored the final nine points of the first half with Kidd hitting his only 3-pointer with 37 seconds left. Although Kidd didn't get his season scoring average of nearly 17 points, he did lead Cal in rebounds (11), assists (seven) and steals (four). ''It was an ugly game but we got the 'W' and that was the important thing,'' Kidd said. ''Hopefully, we can win a game like this in the tournament, but hopefully we won't play like this.'' MERCURY CENTER COLLEGE BASKETBALL: TOP-25 GAME SUMMARY - (16) CALIFORNIA 62, WASHINGTON 56 ***** TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME SUMMARY ***** (THURSDAY, MARCH 10TH) FINAL SCORE: (16) CALIFORNIA 62, WASHINGTON 56 LAMOND MURRAY SCORED 22 POINTS TO LIFT 16TH RANKED CALIFORNIA TO A 62-56 VICTORY OVER WASHINGTON IN SEATTLE. THE BEARS HAVE WON FOUR IN A ROW AND 10 OF THEIR LAST 11 AGAINST THE HUSKIES. WASHINGTON LED 26-15 WITH THREE MINUTES TO PLAY IN THE FIRST HALF, BUT CAL CLOSED THE OPENING 20 MINUTES WITH A 9-0 RUN TO PULL WITHIN TWO. THE HUSKIES HELD A FIVE-POINT LEAD MIDWAY THROUGH THE SECOND HALF, BUT THE BEARS TIED IT UP AT 49 WITH THREE MINUTES TO PLAY. CAL THEN OUTSCORED WASHINGTON, 13-6, TO END THE GAME. MURRAY SCORED 20 OF HIS POINTS IN THE SECOND HALF. JASON KIDD ADDED 12 POINTS, 11 REBOUNDS, AND SEVEN ASSISTS FOR THE BEARS, WHO IMPROVED TO 22-6 OVERALL AND 13-4 IN THE PAC-10. MAURICE WOODS PACED WASHINGTON WITH 18 POINTS. NO OTHER HUSKY PLAYER SCORED IN DOUBLE FIGURES. WASHINGTON FELL TO 5-21 OVERALL AND 3-12 IN THE CONFERENCE. GAME NOTES ---------- MONTY BUCKLEY ADDED 12 POINTS AND EIGHT REBOUNDS FOR CAL...MURRAY IS 23 POINTS SHY OF BECOMING CAL'S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER...CAL HAS WON 12 OF ITS LAST 14 GAMES...WASHINGTON HAS LOST FIVE IN A ROW. SUMMARY: #16 CAL 62, WASHINGTON 56 3/10/94 CALIFORNIA (22-6) Buckley 5-11 2-4 12, Stewart 0-0 0-1 0, Jamison 3-5 0-0 6, Kidd 2-12 7-10 12, Murray 9-17 2-2 22, McQueen 2-3 1-2 6, Jones 2-5 0-0 4, Dean 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 12-19 62. WASHINGTON (5-21) Rashad 4-7 1-4 9, Booker 1-4 2-5 5, M.Woods 7-10 4-7 18, Tyrus 3-9 0-0 8, McClain 0-7 0-0 0, Allen 2-5 2-2 6, Didrickson 2-7 0-0 6, Mitchell 1-2 0-2 2, Cornelius 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-53 9-19 56. Halftime--Washington 26, California 24. 3-Point goals--California 4-15 (Murray 2-4, McQueen 1-2, Kidd 1-7, Buckley 0-2), Washington 5-21 (Tyrus 2-5, Didrickson 2-7, Booker 1-4, McClain 0-5). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--California 39 (Kidd 11), Washington 32 (Allen 6). Assists--California 10 (Kidd 7), Washington 14 (Booker, McClain 4). Total fouls--California 15, Washington 19. A--7,180.