Arizona State returns to action with conference play loss to Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. — Jordan Shepherd made 9 of 10 from the free-throw line and finished with 16 points, Grant Anticevich had a double-double and California cruised to a 74-50 win over Arizona State on Sunday night, snapping a seven-game skid against the Sun Devils.

Anticevich — the reigning conference player of the week — had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Andre Kelly scored 13 points for Cal (9-5, 2-1 Pac-12).

The Golden Bears have won five in a row overall and nine straight at home.

Cal never trailed, hit three 3-pointers in a 15-3 run to take a 25-12 lead midway through the first half and led by at least 14 points for the final 23 minutes.

DJ Horne scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting to lead Arizona State (5-8, 1-2). The rest of the Sun Devils combined to made 13 of 48 (27%) from the field.

The Bears shot a season-high 51% (27 of 53) from the field, including 9 of 19 from 3-point range. Arizona State made just 19 of 58 (33%) overall and hit 3 of 17 (18%) from beyond the arc.

Cal and the Sun Devils rescheduled their Jan. 19 contest to Sunday after both teams’ original opponents were unavailable to play this weekend due to COVID-19 protocols. The Golden Bear were originally scheduled to play at Stanford on Jan. 2 and Arizona State was to play at USC on Dec. 30 and UCLA Jan. 1.