PULLMAN — Tyrone Wallace scored all of his game-high 17 points in the second half to lead California to an 80-62 win over Washington State on Sunday night.
Ivan Rabb added 15 points for the Bears (19-8, 9-5 Pac-12), and Jabari Bird had 13.
California’s victory, combined with USC’s loss to Utah earlier in the day, moved the Bears past the Trojans into fourth place. The top four seeds in the Pac-12 tournament receive first-round byes.
Washington State’s loss clinched the No. 12 seed for the Cougars (9-18, 1-14), which has lost 13 in a row. It’s mathematically possible for Arizona State and WSU to tie for last place at 4-14, but the first tiebreaker for tournament seeding goes to the Sun Devils due to their 2-0 record against the Cougars.
Que Johnson led Washington State with 17 points. Josh Hawkinson and Conor Clifford both scored 12.
Wallace scored his final 15 points in a span of less than four minutes in the second half. He made all six of his field-goal attempts in the spurt, including three shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Bears sank 10 of 13 shots in the game’s first 11 minutes, including their first five 3-pointers, to take a 25-11 lead. The Cougars knocked down 12 of 13 free throws and pulled within six before Jordan Mathews buried a 3-pointer to give California a 40-31 lead at the half.
Bird scored nine points in the first half on 3-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc, but he played only five minutes in the half after picking up two fouls.
TIP-INS
California: The Bears have impressive bloodlines. Nick Kerr and Kameron Rooks are the sons of former NBA players Steve Kerr and Sean Rooks, respectively. Roger Moute a Bidias is the brother of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. Jabari Bird is the son of former Cal star Carl Bird. Cole Welle is the grandson of James Black, who played for John Wooden at UCLA.
Washington State: The 13-game losing streak is tied for fourth longest in school history. The school record of 18 was set in 1989-90. The Cougars have at least four games left to play, counting the conference tournament.
UP NEXT
California hosts UCLA on Thursday.
Washington State visits No. 16 Oregon on Wednesday.
