Jan 17, 2003

Final Stats| Quotes

By TIM KORTE
AP Sports Writer

SEATTLE (AP) - Amit Tamir scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half as California beat Washington 73-66 on Thursday night, giving the Golden Bears a 4-0 conference start for the first time since 1957.

Tamir shot 6-of-7 from the field in the last 20 minutes, hitting all four of his 3-pointers as California (11-2, 4-0 Pac-10) pulled away from a 29-29 halftime tie to win its fifth in a row.

Tamir strained his right knee in a victory over Oregon State last weekend, but it didn't slow him against the Huskies. He hit consecutive 3-pointers to cap a 13-2 run midway through the second half as Cal broke away.

Nate Robinson led Washington (6-8, 1-4) with 15 points while Doug Wrenn had 13 points and 10 rebounds, but it couldn't prevent the Huskies from losing for the fourth time in five games.

The Huskies cut the margin to 58-55 when Will Conroy hit a wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner, but Tamir swished another 3-pointer for the Bears despite being off balance and having Wrenn's hand in his face.

That gave Cal a 61-55 lead with 4:02 remaining.

The Huskies wouldn't quit, staying as close as 63-60 with two minutes to play. But Joe Shipp made six free throws in the final 32 seconds to preserve the win, Cal's fifth in the last six games against the Huskies.

Shipp finished with 19 points, while Brian Wethers scored 11.

Washington led 44-41 after Wrenn made a steal and fed Robinson for a layup with 11:53 to play, and the noisy crowd of 6,889 fans was incensed moments later when Wrenn's basket was waved off because he was called for traveling.

Wrenn protested, drawing a technical foul, and the play seemed to drain the Huskies. California went on a 7-0 burst and Tamir's back-to-back 3-pointers swung the momentum firmly to the Bears.