Tarwater's trey lifts California past UCLA, 64-62

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) A broken play opened the door for Dwight Tarwater to become the latest California player to deliver in the clutch. The fifth-year senior responded with what he called ''the shot of my life.''

Tarwater took a pass from Tyrone Wallace and made a 3-pointer with 18.9 seconds left after teammate Jabari Bird was late coming across the court, and the Golden Bears hung on to beat UCLA 64-62 on Saturday for their third consecutive win in the final moments.

''Actually me and Jabari were supposed to cross but Jabari didn't cross,'' said Tarwater, who had missed 11 of his previous 13 3s over three games before making the game-winner. ''Tyrone got in the paint, kicked it out to me and I shot the ball with confidence. It went in, thankfully.''

Bird made two late, critical 3-pointers and scored 16 points for the Bears (15-9, 5-6 Pac-12). Sam Singer added 13 points off the bench while Wallace had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

California trailed 62-58 with 1:30 remaining.

Bird drilled a 3-pointer to pull the Bears within one, 62-61. After Kevon Looney missed the front end of a one-and-one with 37.3 seconds left, Cal worked the ball to Tarwater in the left corner for a high-arcing 3-pointer.

''That was the only way that was going in,'' Bears coach Cuonzo Martin said. ''He had to get it up there. We had the spacing we needed. It was just a matter of making a play.''

The Bruins (14-10, 6-5) had a final chance to win but Bryce Alford's deep 3-pointer hit the back of the rim.

The lead changed hands seven times over the final 14 minutes, the last coming on Tarwater's game-winner.

It's the third consecutive game Cal has won in the final seconds. Singer made a 3-pointer with five seconds left in the Bears' 90-88 win over Washington on Jan. 29. Wallace followed with a game-winning 3 at the buzzer to lift Cal past USC 70-69 on Thursday.

This one extended the Bears winning streak to four, but Cal remains in the middle of the Pac-12 pack.

The Bruins, who had won their previous three, could have moved into sole possession of third in the Pac-12 with a win.

''We just didn't close the game,'' UCLA coach Steve Alford said. ''The last 2 1/2 minutes it was a 0-7 run by them so we just couldn't close the game out and that's something that we've got to work on.''

Until their late comeback, the Bears couldn't stop UCLA's inside game. Tony Parker scored 20 points for the Bruins, two shy of his career-high, while Looney had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Cal also scored some late magic in the first half.

Jordan Mathews scored 12 points in the first half for Cal, the final two coming on a buzzer-beating tip-in of Wallace's long miss that gave the Bears a 32-28 halftime lead. Mathews was hurt on the play when he collided with Bird as both players went up for ball.

The Bears had led 26-16 with just over six minutes left when Alford sparked a late surge by the Bruins.

UCLA carried the momentum over to the second half, opening with a 12-2 run capped by Alford's short floater. Looney scored six points during the burst, including an emphatic two-handed dunk.

TIP-INS

UCLA: Looney, the only freshman in the country averaging a double-double, was held scoreless for the first 9 1/2 minutes. ... Norman Powell had scored at least 20 points in his previous four games. He finished with 13 points.

California: Mathews appeared to injure his left foot when he collided with Bird and hopped off the court on one foot. Mathews didn't take part in warm-ups coming out of halftime but still finished the game.

UP NEXT

UCLA: Hosts Oregon State on Wednesday.

California: At Colorado on Thursday.