BERKELEY – The California men’s basketball team held Arizona State under 29% shooting through regulation before ultimately falling to the Sun Devils 70-62 in overtime on Saturday evening in Haas Pavilion.
After Cal stifled Arizona State throughout the second half – including 1-for-20 shooting stretch over a 12-minute span – the Sun Devils broke away by making five of six shots in the overtime period. Arizona State (18-8, 9-6 Pac-12) secured a road sweep of the Bay Area schools with the win while Cal (3-22, 2-12) dropped its ninth consecutive contest.
Monty Bowser and Grant Newell scored 14 apiece off the bench to pace Cal; it was a career high in points for Bowser while Newell made six of his 12 field-goal attempts and added five rebounds and a steal. Sam Alajiki, who missed his first five shots, made three 3-pointers in the final 2:42 of regulation, including one that tied the game at 57 with 25 seconds left on the clock. He finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
The Sun Devils scored the first four points of overtime to take a 61-57 advantage. Cal responded with a three-point play by Bowser to pull back within one with 3:09 to go, but Arizona State punched back with five points from Desmond Cambridge Jr., who scored a game-high 24 points.
Cal was 2 of 10 shooting in the overtime period and shot 33.9% for the contest. The Bears’ 10 made 3-pointers were their most since tallying 16 against Stanford on Jan. 6 and they dished out 13 total assists, including seven by Joel Brown.
DeJuan Clayton matched Alajiki with 11 points, giving Cal four players in double figures.
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The Bears open their road swing through Los Angeles against USC on Thursday, Feb. 16. Tipoff from the Galen Center is at 7 p.m. PST on FS1.
Sam had another good game, although he didn't score until late
Best game by Bowser by a long shot. He came in as a shooter, but didn't look for his shot often. But he's gained more confidence with more PT and was a big difference maker today. Good to see his progress (we certainly need shooters)
That take by Sam at 66-60 was great…as he continues to improve and evolve as a player, adding that aspect to his game is going to be big for him to get his play to the next level…the size and ability are there - increasing the variety of ways he can score is key, and nice to see.
