BERKELEY – California got a career-high 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds from sophomore
Matt Bradley, and senior
Paris Austin added a season-high 17 on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor as the Bears earned their first Pac-12 victory of the season in a 73-66 win over Washington State Thursday night at Haas Pavilion.
Up 69-66 with 35 seconds to play, Bradley knocked down a deep 3-pointer with a Cougar defender in his face to ice the game and the Washington State comeback hopes.
California improves to 7-8 overall and evens its conference record at 1-1, while Washington State drops to 10-6 overall and 1-2 in Pac-12 play.
The Bears shot 51 percent from the floor, and held the Cougars to just 39 percent shooting. Cal out-rebounded WSU 33-26 and had 32 points in the paint, compared to just 18 for Washington State.
Junior
Grant Anticevich added 12 points for California, while freshman guard
Joel Brown tallied seven points and five rebounds and sophomore
Andre Kelly scored six points and pulled down five rebounds.
Bradley finished a fastbreak with a thunderous dunk to put Cal back up 10 at 60-50, forcing WSU to take a timeout with 8:53 left, and followed with a
Joel Brown 3-pointer to equal the largest lead of the game at 63-50 with 7:40 to go.
Washington State used a 10-0 run to take a 25-11 lead and force a Cal timeout with 9:43 to go in the first half. The Bears fought back, using a 17-2 extended run to take a 32-31 lead on a layup and free throw from Kelly.
Cal continued the run, taking a 38-32 lead with 1:31 left in the half on a jumper and fast break layup from Austin. The Bears made it a 25-5 run to close the half, holding WSU without a field goal over the last 7:43 to take a 40-34 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Bears had two players in double figures at the break, as Bradley had 14 on 6-of-9 shooting and Austin tallied 12 on 5-of-6 from the floor.
Up Next: Cal finishes off the two-game homestand with the Washington schools when the Huskies visit Haas Pavilion for a 5 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Nov. 11. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
