CAL IMPROVES RECORD TO 7-0, FACES ALABAMA NEXT  12/29/94

By DENNIS GEORGATOS
Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Columbia kept it close for a while, and then bowed to the
inevitable.

Fourteenth-ranked California overpowered Columbia with a 36-6 run over the
final 9:14 to pull away for a 79-43 victory Wednesday night in the
first-round of the Otis Spunkmeyer Classic.

''I think we played extraordinary basketball for 32 minutes. When the dam
broke, they just poured through,'' Columbia coach Jack Rohan said. ''Cal we
knew was extraordinarily talented and everything they did out there proved
it.''
Tremaine Fowlkes' 18 points led Cal (7-0), which advanced to Thursday night's
championship match against Alabama, an 83-64 winner over Texas Christian
earlier Wednesday.

Columbia (2-5) was plagued by turnovers, giving the ball away 34 times to 16
for Cal, off to its best start since the 1967-68 team also began 7-0.

Still, Columbia was within 43-37 when Matt Fuchs made one of two free throws
with 9:14 remaining.

But Cal then put together a 15-0 run, and any thoughts Columbia had about
making a game of it were crushed.

''It was just like Seton Hall when we were outmanned physically. That
happened right away. I thought this was a tremendous improvement,'' said
Rohan.

The Cal game was the first for Columbia since the 103-56 loss to Seton Hall
on Dec. 13.

Cal coach Todd Bozeman was unhappy the game remained close for so long.
''The only two things that were good about this game was the 'W' and that
nobody got hurt,'' said Bozeman. ''Other than that, I didn't think that we
came ready to play and I don't know what to attribute it to.

''Games like these are tough, because you've got a team coming in that hasn't
been playing that well, coming off a game where they lost by 40 or 50 points.
It's tough to find ways to keep your guys motivated and concentrated.''

Cal did come around, though.

Jelani Gardner, who had four of Cal's 15 steals, was fouled while rebounding
a missed free throw and made both free throws and a 3-pointer to ignite the
15-0 burst. K.J. Roberts added six of his seven points by draining a pair of
three-point baskets.

Monty Buckley contributed nine points, and Randy Duck and Gardner also had
seven.

No Columbia player was in double figures. The Lions were led by Tony Doyle's
nine points.


Columbia committed 19 turnovers in the first half but still stayed within
range of Cal, trailing 30-21 at the break.

A jump shot by Fuchs pulled the Lions to within 20-19 with 5:45 remaining in
the opening period. But Columbia then had problems hanging onto the ball, and
Cal put together 10-2 burst to close the first half.

Fowlkes scored six of his 10 first-half points during the run.