Cal shuts down Arizona

Indecisive and tentative against California’s zone, No. 7 Arizona (20-3, 8-3 Pac-12) fell into a 10-point hole in the second half and never fully recovered, losing 77-69 Sunday night in Tucson, Ariz., to become the sixth top-10 team to fall this week.

The Bears (14-9, 6-5) went to their zone early in the second half against Arizona, keying a 17-2 run that put them up 10.

Even as the Wildcats started to figure out the zone, Cal didn’t flinch, making some big shots down the stretch to beat Arizona at the McKale Center for the third straight season.

Allen Crabbe scored on a tough shot along the baseline with just over 2 minutes left and had 19 of his 31 points in the second half. Justin Cobbs hit a keep-em-at-bay 3-pointer just before that and scored on a layup with 39 seconds left, finishing with 21 points.

Arizona had a rare letdown on defense, allowing Cal to shoot 59 percent. Mark Lyons scored 16 points, Solomon Hill added 13 and Brandon Ashley 12.

The Wildcats also struggled with their shooting early and had some breakdowns defensively, allowing Cal to make 15 of 28 shots and Crabbe to score 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

The Wildcats still managed to lead 38-33 at halftime, thanks to Hill’s 11 points and 10-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line.

Arizona pulled within two on a 3-pointer by Lyons with 2:02 left, but Crabbe answered with a tough baseline drive and Cobbs followed with his layup that made it 75-69, sending the Bears to their biggest road win of the season.

The Wildcats had won five in a row before joining Indiana, Florida, Michigan, Kansas and Ohio State as top-10 teams to take a tumble this week.

Colorado 72, Oregon State 68: At Corvallis, Ore., Spencer Dinwiddie scored 24 points, including six free throws in the final two minutes, as the Buffaloes (16-7, 6-5 Pac-12) held off the Beavers (12-12, 2-9).

Josh Scott added 17 points and Andre Roberson had seven points and 10 rebounds for Colorado, which overcame a seven-point second-half deficit.

Roberto Nelson had 21 points and Ahmad Starks scored 20 points for Oregon State. Joe Burton had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Beavers.

Dinwiddie scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half for the Buffaloes, who got the win despite Oregon State’s 39-30 rebounding edge.

Colorado started fast, using an 11-2 run to jump ahead 19-6 lead.

The Beavers chipped away, with back-to-back Joe Burton lay-ins cutting the Buffaloes’ lead to 23-18.

Starks later hit two straight 3-pointers to tie the game at 31-31 with 1:49 left in the half. His next 3 – Starks’ fifth of the half – gave the Beavers a 34-33 at halftime.

Starks finished the half with 17 points.