Brooks posts double-double, leads Huskies over Cal 65-56

BERKELEY, Calif. — Keion Brooks Jr. scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Washington cruised to a 65-56 victory over California on Thursday night for its third straight win.

Keyon Menifield had 16 points and five assists for Washington (16-13, 8-10 Pac-12), which swept the season series. Koren Johnson added 10 points and Braxton Meah had six points to go with 10 rebounds.

Washington never trailed and had an 18-point lead with 12:03 to play. Cal used a 15-3 run to cut the deficit to 52-46 but didn’t get closer. It was the Huskies fifth consecutive win in the series, and they have won nine of the last 12. It’s also their first win in Berkeley since 2013.

Sam Alajiki scored 13 points and Grant Newell had 12 to lead Cal (3-25, 2-15), which shot 31% overall, had 15 turnovers and lost its 12th straight game.

Washington built an early nine-point lead in the first half before Cal pulled to 22-20. The Huskies closed on a 10-2 run, capped by Cole Bajema’s 3-pointer, and headed into halftime up 32-24. Brooks scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in the first half. Menifield added 10 points.

UP NEXT

Cal hosts Washington State on Saturday.

Washington plays at Stanford on Sunday.

WASHINGTON 65, CALIFORNIA 56

WASHINGTON (16-13) — Brooks 9-14 5-6 24, Meah 2-2 2-4 6, Bajema 1-5 2-4 5, Bey 0-4 2-2 2, Menifield 6-11 3-6 16, Johnson 4-12 1-4 10, Wilson 1-1 0-0 2, Grant 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 15-26 65.

CALIFORNIA (3-25) — Bowser 2-5 1-1 5, Kuany 0-8 5-7 5, Newell 5-15 2-3 12, Thiemann 2-6 0-1 4, Brown 2-7 0-0 4, Alajiki 5-9 1-3 13, Okafor 3-9 1-2 7, Roberson 1-3 0-0 2, Anyanwu 0-1 4-4 4, Robinson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-64 14-21 56.

Halftime — Washington 32-24. 3-Point Goals — Washington 4-17 (Brooks 1-1, Bajema 1-4, Johnson 1-4, Menifield 1-4, Bey 0-4), California 2-16 (Alajiki 2-4, Brown 0-1, Roberson 0-1, Robinson 0-1, Bowser 0-3, Kuany 0-3, Newell 0-3). Fouled Out — Bowser, Kuany. Rebounds — Washington 35 (Brooks 11), California 33 (Kuany 8). Assists — Washington 10 (Menifield 5), California 11 (Kuany 4). Total Fouls — Washington 19, California 23.