BERKELEY, Calif. — Jabari Bird scored 16 of his season-high 24 points in the first half and punctuated his big night with a reverse dunk in the final seconds, leading California to an 83-63 victory over No. 11 Oregon on Thursday night.
The Golden Bears (16-8, 6-5 Pac-12) never trailed and led by as much as 25 while remaining unbeaten at Haas Pavilion this season.
It’s Cal’s third win over a ranked team this season and second in less than three weeks.
Jaylen Brown added 16 points, Ivan Rabb had 13 points and seven rebounds, while Tyrone Wallace finished with 10 points in his return to the lineup after missing nearly a month due to injury.
Dillon Brooks scored 17 points, and Chris Boucher added 11 points and six rebounds for Oregon. The Ducks (20-5, 9-3) had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Cal lost to Oregon 68-65 when the two teams met in Eugene. This time, the Bears left no doubt.
Bird got Cal off to a fast start with three quick 3-pointers early and repeatedly burned the Ducks from the perimeter. He finished with five 3s and the Bears had nine overall.
Oregon made one final push late and pulled within 72-57 with 4:51 remaining before Kameron Rooks scored on a tip-in to half the Ducks’ surge. Brown followed with three consecutive baskets for Cal before Bird scored on a reverse dunk to cap the Bears’ scoring and bring the sellout crowd of 10,628 to its feet.
It’s another big step forward for coach Cuonzo Martin’s team. Cal previously beat No. 21 Utah, No. 12 Arizona and lost by one in overtime to then-No. 5 Virginia on Dec. 22.
Cal made its first five 3-point attempts and led 21-9 just six minutes into the first half. Bird, who was limited to just two points in the Bears’ loss at Oregon in January, led the Bears with nine points — all from behind the arc.
Sam Singer made two free throws to extend the lead to 29-9 with 10 minutes left.
Oregon never recovered from the slow start and trailed 42-24 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Oregon: Brooks has scored in double figures in all but three of the Ducks’ 25 games this season. . Oregon, which went into the game shooting nearly 50 percent from the field in conference games, missed eight consecutive shots during one stretch in the first half.
California: The Bears have won 16 straight home games dating to March 1, 2015. … Sam Singer had five assists in the first 5 minutes. … Brown left the game briefly in the second half after appearing to lose a contact lens. … Wallace shot just 4 of 11 in his return to Cal’s lineup after sitting out five games with a broken bone in his right wrist.
UP NEXT
Oregon at Stanford on Saturday.
California hosts Oregon State on Saturday.
