Bears Race Past Redhawks, 81-59

SEATTLE (AP) — Darius McNeill scored 20 points and Justice Sueing added 17 as the two freshmen helped California pull away in the second half for an 81-59 victory over Seattle on Tuesday night.

Cal (6-6) led 34-28 at the half, but capitalized on five turnovers to fuel a 13-0 run that opened a 53-37 lead with 10:58 remaining in the second half. Seattle missed 10 consecutive shots during a scoring drought of more than six minutes.

The Golden Bears added an 11-3 spurt to push the lead to 67-47 with 6:15 left. Don Coleman added 16 points for California, which won its third straight.

Matej Kavas had 20 points and Richaud Gittens added 11 for Seattle (8-6), which had won its first seven home games.

Seattle shot just 33 percent, making 22 of 66 shots, and was just 7 of 32 (22 percent) from 3-point range.

Seattle, held without a field goal until Morgan Means' 3-pointer with 15:25 left in the first half, managed to stay close despite shooting 31 percent. The Redhawks were 9 of 29 from the field, including 4 of 16 from beyond the arc.

Cal missed its first six 3-point attempts until Coleman's 3-pointer with 13 seconds left put the Golden Bears up six at the half.

The Bears offset their lack of outside shooting in the first half with 22 points in the paint.

Starting guard Jordan Hill, a graduate transfer from Wisconsin and Seattle's second-leading scorer, played just five scoreless minutes in the first half while picking up three fouls.

BIG PICTURE

California: The young Golden Bears, who start two freshmen, are a work in progress under first-year head coach Wyking Jones. Their victory over Seattle was the first time they have won three consecutive games this season. They have one more nonconference game before opening Pac-12 play at Stanford on Dec. 30.

Seattle: The Redhawks, who entered Tuesday night 7-0 at home, play 14 of their first 20 games at home. Seattle is 0-5 on the road, including a loss across town at Washington, and won its only neutral-site game.

UP NEXT

California: The Golden Bears host Portland State on Thursday.