BERKELEY, Calif. — Patrick Christopher never recognized he was in a slump until he shot his way out of it.
After 3 1/2 quiet games, Christopher unleashed 17 of his 20 points in the second half Saturday night, joining California teammates Jerome Randle and Theo Robertson in a three-man surge for a 71-63 victory over Washington State.
Christopher had just 13 total points in Cal’s previous three games, and the junior forward managed just one basket in the first half against the Cougars. Christopher insisted he never felt mired in a slump, yet his 6-of-9 performance with three 3-pointers dominated the second half.
“He needed to just make a shot,” Cal coach Mike Montgomery said. “He got one early. Pat said all the right things, but I know deep down, he was hurting. You try to convince guys that if you take a charge or shut somebody down or go get a rebound, you’re going to feel better about yourself, but it’s hard to convince guys of that.”
Randle hit four 3-pointers among his 20 points as Cal (18-6, 7-4 Pac-10) kept pace in the Pac-10 race with third-place Arizona State. Robertson had 17 points for the Golden Bears, who avenged a 21-point home loss to the Cougars last season by sweeping the season series from Washington State.
Cal’s top three scorers accounted for eight 3-pointers and all but 14 of the Bears’ points, but it was enough to beat the slumping Cougars (12-11, 4-7), who have lost five of six.
The Bears’ late-game poise and 8-for-12 shooting on 3-pointers — no surprise from the nation’s No. 1 team in that category — clinched their first four-game sweep of the Washington schools since 2003.
“They would make a little run, and then we made a run,” Christopher said. “It was a fun game. I was definitely trying to stay aggressive.”
Cal went ahead 57-52 on Jorge Gutierrez’s steal and pass to Christopher for a breakaway dunk, but Washington State freshman Klay Thompson’s back-to-back 3-pointers tied it at 60 with 2:51 left.
The Golden Bears then scored seven straight points, finishing a tight game on an 11-3 run. After Christopher hit one free throw and teammate Harper Kamp rebounded his subsequent miss, Randle hit two free throws before making a superb no-look pass to Robertson for another score.
Christopher hit two free throws with 1:14 left, and Robertson hit an off-balance jumper as the shot clock dwindled with 23.1 seconds left.
Cal remained tied with the Sun Devils in the Pac-10 standings behind leader UCLA (8-2) and Washington (7-3), which plays at Stanford on Sunday.
Taylor Rochestie scored 19 points and hit four 3-pointers for Washington State. Thompson had 15 points, and Caleb Forrest added 13 at the close of a winless weekend trip for the Cougars, who have lost 10 of 16 overall.
“He’s a heck of a player,” Forrest said of Christopher after spending the night pursuing the Cal forward. “He makes big shots. When you have a player that versatile, he gets by you.”
Washington State coach Tony Bennett thought the Cougars played better than they did against Stanford two days earlier, but bemoaned a handful of defensive lapses in the final minutes.
“Tonight wasn’t a collapse,” Bennett said. “They made big plays down the stretch. I’m frustrated that we played that hard and didn’t come away with it. (The Stanford) game was more frustrating. Tonight, there were plays they made, and they didn’t die.”
Washington State made seven of its first nine shots to go up 16-5, but Cal scored the next 15 points. The Cougars then finished the first half on a 12-3 run, capped by Rochestie’s third 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to push them to a 33-30 halftime lead.
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