Andre Kelly and Lars Thiemann led a balanced attack with 12 points apiece Wednesday night as California gradually pulled away from Idaho State for a comfortable, 72-46 nonconference victory in Berkeley, Calif.
The Golden Bears (5-5) limited the Bengals (1-8) to 28 percent shooting and outrebounded the visitors 44-32 en route to reaching the .500 mark for the third time this season.
Robert Ford III had a team-high 11 points for Idaho State, which lost its eighth straight.
Coming off a split of games to open Pac-12 play last week, Cal trailed 9-7 in the sixth minute of the game and found itself in a 22-all tie when Idaho State's Tarik Cool buried a 3-pointer with 2:26 remaining in the half.
The Golden Bears dominated most of the rest of the way, starting with an 8-1 spurt to finish the half. Joel Brown contributed half the points on a layup and two free throws.
A Daxton Carr 3-pointer 64 seconds into the second half got Idaho State within 31-28 before Cal took complete charge, growing the lead to 10 by the 14:58 mark and 21 on a Makale Foreman 3-pointer with 8:00 remaining.
Kelly shot 6-for-11 from the floor for the Golden Bears, who finished the game at 47.5 percent. Kelly also found time for seven rebounds.
Cal's Jordan Shepherd chipped in with 11 points and a game-high seven assists, while Grant Anticevich logged a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds to complement 10 points.
Anticevich was the only player in the game with multiple 3-pointers, making two in five attempts, as the teams combined to make just nine. Cal shot 5-for-13 from long distance while Idaho State was held to 4-for-21 from beyond the arc.
Thiemann's 12 points came off the bench, as did Brown's eight and Jalen Celestine's seven.
Ford needed just four field-goal attempts to build his 11-point total. He made three, including a 3-pointer, and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Ford also was Idaho State's leading rebounder with four. Cool added eight points on 3-for-14 shooting.
--Field Level Media
Idaho State | California | |
Robert Ford III 11 | Scoring | Andre Kelly 12 |
Tarik Cool 1 | Assists | Jordan Shepherd 7 |
Robert Ford III 4 | Rebounds | Grant Anticevich 10 |
Austin Smellie 5 | Free Throws Made | Joel Brown 4 |
Daxton Carr 1 | Steals | Joel Brown 3 |
Brayden Parker 1 | Blocks | Andre Kelly 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Idaho State | 46 | 28.0 | 4-21 | 14-21 | 4 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
California | 72 | 47.5 | 5-13 | 11-19 | 13 | 40 | 2 | 4 | 7 |