Twelfth-ranked Arizona will try give Sean Miller his 300th career victory by extending its streak to four Saturday night at Haas Pavilion.
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Cal answered with an 8-2 burst featuring back-to-back 3-pointers by Mathews, and led 51-42 with 14:08 left. But Brown was fouled on a drive to the basket and hit the second free throw to push Cal back in front. He shot 10 for 17 overall and 6 of 12 from long range in 30 minutes off the bench – a new role he has embraced.
Brown finished with 15 points after a slow start. “We just have to improve a little bit every day”. For the Wildcats, forward Ryan Anderson (14 points and nine rebounds) led five Arizona players in double-digit points.
Arizona’s Kadeem Allen, right, looks to pass away from California’s Jordan Mathews (24) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif.
“Winning on the road, winning in a game like tonight, winning with the crowd they had, we would have had to play a terrific game, ” Miller said.
With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Bears still are in need of major contributions from their freshmen phenoms.
ABOUT CAL (13-6, 3-3): The Golden Bears had a giant question mark at point guard following Wallace’s injury, but junior Sam Singer proved to be a capable replacement against the Sun Devils with eight assists, six points and six rebounds in 35 minutes.
It hasn’t been the smoothest ride for the Golden Bears so far, but their 74-73 win over No. 12 Arizona in a deafening Haas Pavilion could be the springboard to a strong finish. Cal played its second game without G Tyrone Wallace, who is averaging a team-high 15.4 points and broke his hand earlier this week in practice.
Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin chatted with four-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Missy Franklin before the game courtside.
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The Arizona Cardinals Football Club will host a special “Big Red Send-Off” rally at Sky Harbor Airport on Saturday morning as the team prepares to fly to North Carolina for the NFC Championship game against the Panthers. It hardly helped, of course, that Rooks and fellow 7-footer Kingsley Okoroh were limited with early foul trouble.
