Cal Falls To WSU In Pac-12 Tournament

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Jordan Shepherd scored a game-high 19 points but No. 10 seed California never owned a lead in its 66-59 loss to seventh-seeded Washington State in the first round of the Pac-12 Conference tournament on Wednesday night.

Washington State (19-13) will look for its fifth straight win when it faces No. 2 seed UCLA in a Thursday quarterfinal.

Efe Abogidi scored 11 of his 19 points in the first half and was 7 of 17 from the field FOR Washington State. Tyrell Roberts added 14 points for the Cougars, which also swept the regular-season series against Cal. Michael Flowers and TJ Bamba had 12 points apiece. Dishon Jackson matched a career high with five blocked shots to go with four points.

Lars Thiemann pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds for Cal (12-20) while Jalen Celestine added 11 points. The Bears shot just 31 percent from the field, including 23 percent over the first 20 minutes played.

Washington State opened the game on a 9-2 surge on its way to a 32-20 halftime advantage. Cal cut the deficit to four early in the second half but didn't get closer.

Cal fell to 2-2 at the Pac-12 Tournament under head coach Mark Fox.

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