Field Level Media
Feb 3, 2018
California guard Darius McNeill had 16 points and Kingsley Okoroh had his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Golden Bears broke a nine-game losing streak in a 74-70 Pac-12 victory over the Oregon State Beavers at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday.
Marcus Lee had 14 points and seven rebounds and Justice Sueing had 11 points for the Bears (8-16, 2-9 Pac-12), who had not won since overcoming a 17-point deficit to beat Stanford in the conference opener Dec. 30.
Stephen Thompson Jr. had 24 points and Tres Tinkle had 19 points for the Beavers (11-11, 3-7), who have lost four in a row and six of seven.
Drew Eubanks added 13 points and eight rebounds and Ethan Thompson had 10 points for the Beavers, whose 19-game road losing streak is the longest among major colleges.
Cal made 11 of 14 free throws in the final 3:23, including the first 10, with Okoroh hitting all four of his attempts. He was 12 of 14 from the foul line.
Thompson Jr. made a layup with 5.9 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to 73-70 before Sueing made one of two free throws to ice it.
The Bears, who trailed by 10 points in the first half, took a 41-30 lead early in the second half on a McNeill 3-pointer before the Beavers chipped away, taking a 57-56 lead on Seth Berger's tip-in with 6:47 remaining
McNeill hit a 3-pointer on the Bears' next possession, and Cal never trailed again.
Tinkle, who also had four rebounds, was 10-of-10 from the free throw line in a foul-littered game. Tinkle has scored in double figures in 25 straight games.
The teams were called for 51 personal fouls, 29 on Oregon State.
The Beavers made 21-of-28 free throws. Cal was 29-of-39.
Lee had six points and McNeill had four on Cal's 14-0 run over a five-minute span late in the first half for a 32-24 lead. Nick Hamilton's 3-pointer gave Cal its first lead at 26-24 in that stretch.
The Beavers had one field goal in the final 8:10 of the first half as the Bears took their first halftime lead in conference play at 36-28.
--Field Level Media