TEMPE, Ariz. -- Tyrone Wallace matched a season high with 24 points and hit two decisive free throws in the final minute to lead No. 25 California to a 68-65 comeback victory over Arizona State on Saturday night that earned the Golden Bears a first-round bye in the Pac-12 tournament.
Wallace scored 19 points in the second half and grabbed seven rebounds, and Jordan Mathews added 18 points for Cal (22-9, 12-6), which trailed by eight points halfway through the second half before securing the fourth 22-win regular season in school history.
Wallace hit 7 of 11 shots from the field and all eight free throws, including two with 33.9 seconds left to put Cal ahead by four.
Arizona State's Obinna Oleka couldn't handle a pass along the sideline on the ensuing possession.
Eric Jacobsen scored 20 points and fellow senior Gerry Blakes added 14 points for the Sun Devils (15-16, 5-13).
Returning to the rankings on Monday for the first time since November, the Bears turned sloppy, allowing Arizona go on an 11-0 game-ending run Thursday and failing the match the surging Sun Devils' intensity early on.
The Sun Devils came in locked into the 11th seed for the conference tourney in coach Bobby Hurley's uneven first season.
But they impressed with Thursday's home victory over Stanford, and appeared in control halfway through the second half before fading.
Arizona State used scrappy defense and Jacobsen's inside play to erase an early 22-14 deficit. Kodi Justice's corner 3 and Savon Goodman's power one-handed dunk on consecutive possessions put the Sun Devils ahead 33-26 before Mathews' floater at the halftime buzzer.
Oleka's 3-pointer put Arizona State ahead 38-28 less than 2 minutes into the second half and forced Bears coach Cuonzo Martin into a timeout.
Cal trailed 47-39 before Wallace's thunderous dunk keyed a 9-0 run that closed with Mathews' wing 3 with 9:28 left.
TIP-INS:
California: The Bears will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. . Reserve G Brandon Chauca wasn't looking, took a ball to the head and fell to the floor in warmups. He received plenty of razzing from his teammates.
Arizona State: Jacobsen, Blakes and fellow senior Willie Atwood received framed jerseys before their final home game.
UP NEXT:
California plays on Friday in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.
Arizona State plays Oregon State on Wednesday in the first round of the conference tournament. The Sun Devils won 86-68 in January.
