Jalen Cone scored a game-high 26 points, Jaylon Tyson put up a double-double and California continued the home-team dominance of its recent series with nearby Santa Clara with an 84-69 nonconference romp Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif.
On a day when every other player in the game combined to shoot 12-for-44 from long distance, Cone buried 7 of his 10 3-point attempts to help the Golden Bears (3-5) end a four-game losing streak.
Santa Clara (7-2), which beat Cal in December 2022 for the fourth straight win for the home team in the series, lost for the second time in its last three games despite a 22-point performance by Adama Bal.
Cal trailed 6-4 before taking control of the game at the defensive end, limiting the Broncos to three points over the next 5:48 while running off to a 23-9 lead. Cone bombed in three 3-pointers in the run, while Tyson added one and Fardaws Aimaq had a three-point play.
The Golden Bears went on to lead 45-31 at halftime and the closest Santa Clara could get in the second period was 65-59 on a 3-pointer by Johnny O’Neil with still 7:37 remaining.
But Tyson countered with a 3-pointer and two layups, and Cone connected on his season-best-tying seventh three in a 14-point flurry that broke the game open.
Tyson finished with 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Golden Bears, while Aimaq had 15 points and Keonte Kennedy 10.
O’Neil backed Bal with 15 points for the Broncos, who shot just 38.0 percent compared to Cal’s 48.4 percent. Tyeree Bryan also reached double figures for the visitors with 13 points.
–Field Level Media