BERKELEY (AP) – Frankie Collins scored 17 of his career-high 25 points in the second half to help Arizona State rally from a 16-point second-half deficit and beat California 71-69 Sunday night at Haas Pavilion.
Collins, who went into the game ranked fourth nationally in steals per game (2.92), made 10 of 17 from the field, 3 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with six steals for Arizona State (8-5, 2-0 Pac-12), which swept the opening weekend of Pac-12 play.
Grant Newell hit a jumper that gave the Golden Bears (4-9, 0-2) a 14-point lead with 8:59 left in the game but they made just 1 of 5 from the field and committed five turnovers over the next five-plus minutes. Kamari Lands scored all his 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in a 22-6 spurt that gave the Sun Devils a 64-62 lead with – their first since 2-0 – with 3:12 to go. Fardaws Aimaq answered with a three-point play before Collins hit a jumper and Jaylon Tyson made two free throws to put Cal in front 67-66 with 1:25 remaining. Jose Perez had a jumper in the lane blocked by Jalen Celestine but Alonzo Gaffney's put-back dunk with 43 seconds left gave Arizona State the lead for good.
After a turnover by Tyson on the other end, Collins made a layup with seven seconds to go that gave the Sun Devils their biggest lead of the game at 70-67. They immediately fouled and Jalen Cone hit two free throws to cut the deficit to a point before Collins – a 59% free-throw shooter this season – made 1 of 2 from the foul line to cap the scoring with 4.5 seconds to play.
Tyson, who missed a contested and potential game-winning 35-footer at the buzzer, had 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and six steals for the Bears. Aimaq posted his ninth double-double of the year with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Keonte Kennedy finished with 11 points and Newell added 10 off the bench.
Cal allowed its second-fewest points in a half and led Arizona State 35-25 at the intermission. The Bears won the rebounding battle 45-35 and knocked down 18 of 22 free throw attempts, but shot just 5 of 27 from beyond the arc after entering the game aveaging nine made 3-pointers per game.
The Bears will travel to Los Angeles to face USC on Wednesday, Jan. 3 and UCLA on Saturday, Jan. 6. Both games will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
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