Keion Brooks Jr. led all scorers with 24 points, four coming in a key sequence late in the game, and Washington beat California 65-56 for its school-record 25th defeat Thursday night in the Pac-12 Conference matchup in Berkeley, Calif.
Brooks also found time for a game-high 11 rebounds, while Braxton Meah had 10 boards and five of the game’s nine blocks to complement six points for the Huskies (16-13, 8-10 Pac-10), who won the game at the defensive end, where they held Cal to 31.3 percent shooting overall and just 2-for-16 on 3-pointers.
Sam Alajiki had a team-high 13 points and Grant Newell 12 for the Golden Bears (3-25, 2-15), whose previous record for losses in a season of 24 was set in 2017-18.
Washington never trailed en route to completing a two-game sweep of Cal. Cole Bajema’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer allowed the visitors to take a 32-24 lead into halftime, an advantage that mushroomed to 49-31 when Langston Wilson buried a jumper with just over 12 minutes to play.
Seeking to snap an 11-game losing streak, the Golden Bears rallied as close as 56-50 with 3:53 remaining and had possession of the ball. But Meah blocked a layup by ND Okafor, and the Huskies then forced a turnover after a Cal offensive rebound.
The Golden Bears disputed the call on the turnover, leading to a technical foul. When Brooks hit both free throws and then dropped in a layup, Washington had a double-digit lead again.
Brooks’ double-double was his sixth of the season. He had another when he contributed 26 points and 10 rebounds to the Huskies’ earlier 81-78 overtime home win over the Golden Bears.
Keyon Menifield chipped in with 16 points and Koren Johnson 10 for Washington, which shot 46.9 percent from the field.
Alajiki hit a pair of 3-pointers in four attempts off the bench for Cal, whose starters went a combined 0-for-10 from deep. Newell complemented his 12 points with four of the game’s 12 steals.
Kuany Kuany was Cal’s top rebounder with eight to go with five points and a team-high four assists.
–Field Level Media
