Rabb scores 26 in California's 83-59 win over Alcorn State

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Better transition defense and another career day from Ivan Rabb kept California's winning streak at Haas Pavilion going.

Maintaining a big lead -- something the Golden Bears have struggled to do this season -- certainly helped, too.

Rabb scored 18 of his career-high 26 points in the first half and California beat Alcorn State 83-59 on Saturday for its 25th consecutive home win.

"It's very important for us as a team to grow and to keep pushing the lead, especially in the second half," said Roger Moute a Bidias, who matched his career high of 12 points for the third time this season. "In the past we've had halves where we come back and we're a little slower and we let teams get back into it. You don't want to give a team confidence when you have a lead like that."

California (6-1) went into the game riding a three-game winning streak despite blowing 20-point leads each time. Coach Cuonzo Martin blamed it on the team's injuries which forced him to mix and match the lineups.

It hardly mattered against Alcorn State.

California built a 44-25 halftime lead, led by as much as 29 in the second half and coasted to its fourth straight win.

"In the two games that we had here when we gave up big leads we did a poor job with our transition defense, a poor job carrying out assignments," Martin said. "It was better today."

Three days after setting his previous career best for scoring, Rabb shot 10 of 12 and had seven rebounds to lead a dominant effort down low by California. Rabb scored on a pair of putbacks in the first half, added a one-handed dunk off a lob pass from Charlie Moore then scored six points as part of an 11-2 run in the second half.

Moore, the Bears' leading scorer going into the game, had an off-game while filling in for point guard Grant Mullins. Moore missed his first six shots and finished with seven points and four assists.

Alcorn State (2-5) couldn't keep up and lost its third straight.

Reginal Johnson scored a season-high 17 points and had seven rebounds while Marquis Vance added 11 points for the Braves.

"We have to run our offense a little better and play with a little more pace and tempo," Alcorn State coach Montez Robinson said. "We got stagnant at times."

BIG PICTURE

Alcorn State: Three consecutive lopsided losses have Robinson's squad reeling. The problems are happening on both ends of the floor, though Johnson provided a lift offensively. The biggest issues are consistency and 3-point shooting. The Braves went 5 of 21 beyond the arc and are shooting under 30 percent for the season.

California: The Bears got on top early and never let the Braves get back into the game, a definite step up after California had troubles closing out games earlier this season. Getting Moute a Bidias going is another good sign as the team tries to find some complementary scoring to support Rabb.

SHORT-HANDED BEARS

Mullins was in Canada to be with family following the death of his grandmother. The graduate transfer is expected to rejoin the Bears in Hawaii. Jabari Bird, who hasn't played since the season-opener, continues to be sidelined with a sore back. Bird averaged 10.4 points and shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range last season.

UP NEXT

Alcorn State: The Braves continue their six-game road trip at Louisiana Tech on Monday night.

California: The Bears left immediately after the win to fly to Hawaii for a pair of games in the Pearl Harbor Invitational. California opens against Princeton on Tuesday night.