Sun Devils go cold, no match for Cal's Mullins, Rabb
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TEMPE, Ariz. -- Grant Mullins knocked down a season high six 3-pointers for 18 points and Ivan Rabb recorded his 24th career double-double, helping California coast to a 68-43 win over Arizona State Wednesday night.
Mullins, a graduate transfer from Columbia, went 6 of 9 behind the arc and Rabb had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Cal, winners of five straight games.
Cal (18-6 overall, 9-2 Pac-12) held the conference's second-best scoring offense 39 points under its per-game average.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ASU suffered through its worst shooting night of the season, making just 15 of 59 shots for 25.4 percent. The Sun Devils (11-14, 4-8) were 3 of 25 from 3-point range and have lost three of their last four games.
Arizona State went almost 11 minutes without a made field goal between the first and second halves, and the drought proved costly. Cal went ahead by 20 points early in the first half, taking a 46-26 lead with 12:33 to play on a 3-pointer from Mullins.
The Bears took a 24-point lead, 55-31, after another Mullins 3 at the 9:46 mark. They were never threatened in the second half and led by as many as 27.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cal took control of the game when Arizona State's shooting went cold in the first half.
The Sun Devils turned an 11-4 deficit into a 15-14 lead in the first half, but failed to make another basket from the 7:38 mark to halftime.
The last two points the Sun Devils scored in the first half came on a pair of Obinna Oleka free throws with 6:27 left. Arizona State missed 11 straight shots but trailed by only 11, 28-17, at the break.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Oleka had 12 points and 14 rebounds for Arizona State.
The 17 first-half points was a season low for the Sun Devils.
Cal went on an 11-0 run while ASU struggled on offense, with Rabb's eight points leading the way along with a 23-13 rebounding edge.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BIG PICTURE
The Sun Devils have a chance to get out of the bottom four of the Pac-12 and get a first-round bye in the conference tournament thanks to four of their final six regular-season games at home. ASU is 7-5 at home this season.
CURTAIN CAMEO
Actor Charlie Day ("It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Horrible Bosses") donned a neon green spandex outfit for appearances inside the Sun Devil student section's Curtain of Distraction early in the second half. The students chanted his name, and the Bears went 4 for 6 at the line with Day in action.
UP NEXT
Arizona State hosts Stanford on Saturday.