BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Fardaws Aimaq had 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and California tied a program-record with 16 3-pointers in rallying to beat Oregon State 81-73 on Thursday night.
Aside from Aimaq’s 18th double-double this season, Jalen Cone hit five 3-pointers and scored all 17 of his points in the second half when Cal (12-15, 8-8 Pac-12) outscored Oregon State (11-16, 3-13) by 17. Jalen Celestine scored 12 of his 15 points after halftime. Keonte Kennedy finished with 11 points. The Golden Bears made 16 of 33 from the arc for 48%, that coming against the Pac-12’s leading 3-point percentage defensive team.
Jordan Pope scored 23 points, Tyler Bilodeau had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Dexter Akanno 15 points for the Beavers, who lost their seventh straight game despite leading for over 32 minutes.
Trailing 71-66 with just over five minutes remaining, Celestine hit a pair of 3-pointers and Cone added another plus a couple free throws for a 77-71 lead with three minutes to go. The surge started a 15-2 game-ending run.
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Oregon State had a nine-point lead before Cone hit a trio of 3-pointers in a 16-5 run, the last giving Cal the lead midway through the second half, its first lead since the game’s opening basket. The Beavers grabbed the lead back and went up by five on a Bilodeau 3-pointer before Cal’s final run.
The Beavers led by as many as 11 in the first half. Akanno’s 3-pointer in the final minute, his third of the half, had the Beavers ahead 43-34 at the break.
Oregon State is at Stanford and Cal is host to Oregon in games on Saturday.
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