California rolls to victory at Washington State, leapfrogs USC for fourth place in Pac-12

Tyrone Wallace scored all of his game-high 17 points in the second half Sunday night to lead California to an 80-62 win over Washington State.

Ivan Rabb added 15 points for the Bears (19-8, 9-5 Pac-12 Conference), and Jabari Bird had 13.

California’s victory, combined with USC’s loss to Utah earlier in the day, moved the Bears past the Trojans into fourth place. The top four seeds in the Pac-12 tournament receive first-round byes.

Washington State’s loss clinched the No. 12 seed for the Cougars (9-18, 1-14), who have lost 13 in a row. It’s mathematically possible for Arizona State and WSU to tie for last place at 4-14, but the first tiebreaker for tournament seeding goes to the Sun Devils due to their 2-0 record against the Cougars.

Que Johnson led Washington State with 17 points. Josh Hawkinson and Conor Clifford each scored 12.

Wallace scored his final 15 points in a span of less than four minutes in the second half. He made all six of his field-goal attempts during the spurt, including three shots from beyond the three-point arc.

The Bears sank 10 of 13 shots in the game’s first 11 minutes, including their first five three-point attempts, to take a 25-11 lead. The Cougars knocked down 12 of 13 free throws and pulled within six before Jordan Mathews buried a three-pointer to give California a 40-31 lead at the half.

Bird scored nine points in the first half on three-for-three shooting from beyond the arc, but he played only five minutes in the half after picking up two fouls.