Tarwater's Trey Lifts California Past UCLA, 64-62
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Dwight Tarwater made a 3-pointer with 18.9 seconds left and California beat UCLA 64-62 on Saturday, the Golden Bears' third consecutive win in the final moments.
Jabari Bird made two late, critical 3-pointers and scored 16 points for the Golden Bears (15-9, 5-6 Pac-12). Sam Singer added 13 points off the bench while Tyrone Wallace had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
California trailed 62-58 with 1:30 remaining before closing the game with back-to-back 3s.á
Bird made the first to pull the Bears within 61-58. After Kevon Looney missed the front end of a one-and-one with 37.3 seconds left, Cal worked the ball to Tarwater in the left corner and the fifth-year senior sank the 3-pointer.
The Bruins (14-10, 6-5) had a final chance to win but Bryce Alford's deep 3-pointer hit the back of the rim.
The lead changed hands seven times over the final 14 minutes, the last coming on Tarwater's game-winner.
It's the third consecutive game Cal has won in the final seconds.á
Singer made a 3-pointer with five seconds left in the Bears' 90-88 win over Washington on Jan. 29. Wallace followed with a game-winning 3 at the buzzer to lift Cal past USC 70-69 on Thursday.
This one extended the Bears winning streak to four, but Cal remains in the middle of the Pac-12 pack.
UCLA missed a chance to sweep the season series from Cal. The Bruins, who had won their previous three, could have moved into sole possession of third in the Pac-12 with a win.
Until their late comeback, the Bears couldn't stop UCLA's inside game. Tony Parker scored 20 points for the Bruins, two shy of his career-high, while Looney had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Cal also scored some late magic in the first half. áá
Jordan Mathews scored 12 points in the first half for Cal, the final two coming on a buzzer-beating tip-in of Wallace's long miss that gave the Bears a 32-28 halftime lead. Mathews was hurt on the play when he collided with Bird as both players went up for ball.á
The Bears had led 26-16 with just over six minutes left when Alford sparked a late surge by the Bruins.
UCLA carried the momentum over to the second half, opening with a 12-2 run capped by Alford's short floater. Looney scored six points during the burst, including an emphatic two-handed dunk.
TIP-INS
UCLA: Looney, the only freshman in the country averaging a double-double, was held scoreless for the first 9 1/2 minutes. ... Norman Powell had scored at least 20 points in his previous four games. He finished with 13 points.á
California: Mathews appeared to injure his left foot when he collided with Bird and hopped off the court on one foot. Mathews didn't take part in warm-ups coming out of halftime but still finished the game.
UP NEXT
UCLA: Hosts Oregon State on Wednesday.
California: At Colorado on Thursday.
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