Cal beat UCLA snapping a 19-game losing streak
LOS ANGELES – Jaylon Tyson scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, Fardaws Aimaq had his 10th double-double of the season and California beat UCLA 66-57 Saturday night for its first Pac-12 Conference win in a calendar year.
Cal (5-10, 1-3) hadn’t beaten a conference opponent since it beat Stanford 9270 on Jan. 6, 2023. The Golden Bears had lost 19 straight – including the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament – in league play and snapped a 16-game road skid.
Aimaq finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds and Jalen Cone scored 12 points for Cal.
Aimaq converted a three-point play to open the scoring and UCLA trailed the rest of the way. Tyson, Cone, and Aimaq each made a 3-pointer to give Cal a 12-2 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half as the Bruins started the game 1-of-9 shooting with four turnovers.
The Golden Bears led by as many as 13 points in the first half and Tyson scored six points in a 9-2 spurt that made it 45-31 when he scored inside with 14:50 to play. UCLA scored 11 of the next 15 points – going 7 of 8 from the free-throw line – to trim its deficit to seven. Tyson answered with a 3 to push Cal’s lead by to double figures and it was at least a two-possession game the rest of the way.
Sebastian Mack, who had two points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first half, finished with 20 points for UCLA (6-9, 1-3).
The Bruins have lost three games in a row and seven of their last eight. UCLA had won 11 in a row against the Bears and had won 10 straight by double figures at Pauley Pavilion.
Cal returns home to face Colorado on Wednesday. UCLA plays Thursday at Utah.