UA sqeaks by Cal

Adam F. Jarrold Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior forward Michael Dickerson (23) struggles with University of California guard Geno Carlisle (25) for a loose ball last night at McKale Center. Dickerson scored 23 points last night helping the Wildcats squeak by the Golden Bears 76-73.

But looking at the standings, the second-ranked Wildcats are still undefeated in the Pacific 10 Conference after narrowly beating California, 76-73, in front of 14,541 at McKale Center last night.

The Bears had a chance to win the game but as Cal forward Geno Carlisle made his move with under five seconds left and his team down 74-73, the referee called an offensive foul for hooking.

Mike Bibby hit the free throws with .2 seconds left and all Cal coach Ben Braun could do is shake his head as the Wildcats celebrated their 18th win in a row.

The foul call mystified a lot of people, including Arizona senior forward Michael Dickerson, who Carlisle fouled.

"If I was the referee, I probably wouldn't have made the call," Dickerson said, adding that at first, he thought the foul was called on him.

But, as Olson said, "If someone gains an advantage with an illegal hook the ref has got to call it."

Dickerson, who scored a team-high 23 points, said Carlisle was hooking him all night, but the officials weren't calling it.

"Eventually you're going to get caught. He just got caught at the wrong time," Dickerson said.

Though the foul call may have been the most dramatic event that took place last night, perhaps more important is that - once again - the Wildcats did not execute. They gave the opposing team a chance to win the game at the end.

"We came out and played soft," Bibby said. "It seems like every other game we come out with no intensity. Obviously we needed this game to win the Pac-10. We can't afford any more games like this."

"We had a great scouting report," senior guard Miles Simon added, "but we didn't go out and execute. The only upside is that it's a W."

But as badly as the Wildcats played, Olson was quick to give California the credit.

"That team will be one of the teams to beat next year," he said. "We can play better and I hope we will but don't take anything away from Cal. They did a good job defensively. They collapsed well."

The Bears led for most of the first half and held a 36-31 lead at the break, but the second half belonged to Dickerson. He scored 21 of his 23 points on 7 of 9 shooting, including four three-pointers.

"Thank goodness for Mike D.," sophomore Eugene Edgerson said after the game. "If he doesn't hit those three's, it would have been a long night for us."

Dickerson, however, did not hit a field goal until 15:03 remained in the second half and that concerns Olson.

"If we're going to make some noise, we've got to have 40 minutes (from him)," he said. "We can't wait for the second half. He's got to come out in the first half the same."

Playing without junior center Donnell Harris, who was suspended for missing practice, Arizona repeatedly made mental errors in clutch situations, including a couple of lane violations and a dismal 52 percent free throw shooting percentage.

But, as Olson said, last year the Wildcats would have lost the game. This year they found a way to win.

"Inexperienced teams lose game like this," he said. "Experienced teams win them."