Dec. 31, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -Ayinde Ubaka scored eight of his 14 points in overtime, including two 3-pointers, and California held on to beat Arizona State 66-62 Saturday night.
Cal led most of the game but Christian Polk made an off-balance 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left, tied it at 55 and forced the overtime.
Ubaka, 4-for-9 on 3-pointers, made the two 3s early in the extra session to put Cal up for good 61-55 with 1:41 left. The senior point guard's two free throws with 13.3 seconds left sealed the victory.
The Bears were 12-for-28 from the 3-point range. Freshman Ryan Anderson led Cal (9-5, 1-1 Pac-10) with 18 points. Eric Vierneisel added 14 and Omar Wilkes 10.
It was the first win for the Bears in their three games without center DeVon Hardin, out with a stress fracture in his left foot.
Polk and Antwi Atuahene scored 14 apiece for Arizona State (6-7, 0-2). Jeff Pendergraph added 11 points and Jerren Shipp 10 for the Sun Devils. Shipp missed two free throws that could have cut the lead to one with 23.6 seconds to go.
The Bears made five 3-pointers in the first 10:20 of the second half and led 49-45 on Anderson's inside basket with 5:23 to play.
Atauhene's 3-pointer trigged a 7-0 spurt that gave Arizona State a 52-49 on Shipp's rebound basket with 3:03 to play.
Cal cut it to 52-51 on Anderson's baseline drive, then regained the lead 53-52 on a breakaway layup by Wilkes. The Bears led 55-52 on Anderson's inside basket with one minute to play. Wilkes and Anderson both were fouled on their baskets and missed free throws that would have made three-point plays.
ASU coach Herb Sendek called three timeouts in the final minute of regulation, the last with 10 seconds to go, then Polk sank the 3-pointer that forced the overtime.
California led 22-21 after an ugly first half that ended with Ubaka's 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Both teams shot 35 percent and combined for 18 turnovers in the first half, 10 by Arizona State.