PULLMAN — Tyrone Wallace scored 21 of his 26 points in the first half, and backcourt partner Jordan Mathews scored all nine of his points in the final minutes of California’s 76-67 win at Washington State on Thursday night.
Jabari Bird added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bears (12-9, 2-6 Pac-12), who snapped a six-game losing streak. Freshman Brandon Chauca scored a season-high 10 points.
DaVonte Lacy led Washington State (9-11, 3-5) with 24 points. Josh Hawkinson added 18 points and 12 rebounds. No other player scored more than seven points for the Cougars, who have lost four consecutive games.
California led 39-37 at the end of a tightly contested first half. An 8-0 run gave the Cougars a 65-64 lead with 3 minutes, 35 seconds left in the game. That was WSU’s first lead since late in the first half, but Mathews — Cal’s second-leading scorer behind Wallace this season — scored Cal’s next nine points during a 9-2 run that pushed the Bears ahead 73-67.
The first half included nine ties and three lead changes. California drew 12 of the 20 fouls called in the first half and 21 of 40 in the game. Mathews played just four minutes in the first half after picking up a quick foul and a technical at the same time.
Bird moved well in his fifth game back from a foot injury. The 12 points were the most Bird has scored since missing 10 games, and the eight rebounds tied a career high for the sophomore guard.
The Bears, who had been struggling on offense, shot 55.2 percent from the field. The Bears had not scored more than 66 points in a game since their six-game losing skid began with a 69-66 home loss to Washington State on Jan. 4.
TIP-INS
California: Tyrone Wallace scored 21 of the Bears’ 39 points in the first half, but four teammates also scored in the half. Only four Cal players scored in their previous game, a 73-50 loss to Arizona.
Washington State: Josh Hawkinson, who averaged just 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds as a freshman last season, started the day ranked 10th in the Pac-12 in scoring (15.1) and first in rebounding (10.7).
UP NEXT
California visits Washington on Sunday.
Washington State hosts Stanford on Saturday.
