California Gets Much-Needed Victory Over Arizona State
Brian Wethers returned from a knee and hip injury sustained in the first 18 seconds to score a career-high 27 points and lead California to an 86-67 victory over Arizona State on Thursday.
Sean Lampley added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bears (20-9 overall, 11-6 in the Pacific 10 Conference). It was the ninth double-double for Lampley and the 30th of his career.
Tommy Smith also had a double-double, scoring 21 points to go with 12 rebounds to pace Arizona State (13-15, 5-12).
The victory could be critical in the coming days when the NCAA tournament selection committee fills out its brackets. The Pac-10 will likely send Stanford, Arizona and UCLA to the tournament, and Cal and USC are gunning for bids.
Wethers injured his knee and hip in the opening moments and spent the early part of the first half riding a stationary bicycle behind California’s bench. When he returned, the sophomore guard ignited the Bears with three three-point baskets to spark a 17-6 run that put California comfortably ahead, 30-14.
Wethers, averaging only 7.9 points a game, finished the first half with 15 points and was five of six from three-point range.
Lampley, the Pac-10’s leading scorer, was held scoreless for the first 14 1/2 minutes, so Wethers’ scoring was the spark the Bears needed.
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