Pope, Akanno lead Oregon State past Cal 68-48

Jan 22, 2023, 05:30 pm

BERKELEY, Calif. -- — Jordan Pope scored 19 points, Dexter Akanno added 16, and Oregon State defeated California 68-48 on Sunday.

Glenn Taylor Jr. added 11 points for Oregon State (8-12, 2-7 Pac-12), which shot 54% both overall and from 3-point distance, making 13 of 24 from beyond the arc. The Beavers made one free throw in six tries.

Kuany Kuany scored 15 points for Cal (3-17, 2-7). The Golden Bears shot 37.5% overall and made 3 of 15 3-pointers.

California was within 10 points early in the second half before Akanno hit a 3-pointer and Pope added six points on a three-point play and a 3-pointer to give the Beavers a 19-point lead with 15:58 remaining.

Cal scored the next eight points to get back within 39-28 but the Bears missed their next five shots. Meanwhile, the Beavers made five of six in a 13-0 run as Justin Rochelin hit a 3-pointer, Michael Rataj added a 3-pointer and Rochelin connected again from distance to spark the run.

Oregon State's lead peaked at 58-30 with 6:25 to go.

The Golden Bears made only 4 of 23 shots in the first half and trailed 27-15 at the break. Cal led 12-11 with 6:01 to go before Oregon State closed the half on a 15-4 run.

Oregon State's win leaves the Beavers and Golden Bears tied with Stanford for last place in the conference.

Oregon State wrapped up a stretch of six road games in its first nine Pac-12 games this season. The Beavers will play seven of their final 11 regular season games at home. That home stretch begins on Thursday against Utah.

Cal plays at Stanford on Thursday.

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