By Morris Phillips

Simply put, the Cal Bears don’t need to see Remy Martin ever again, and Arizona State anytime soon. Just the possibility of another meeting in March at the Pac-12 Tournament is frightening news.

Martin covered for his inconsistent teammates in the game’s final 10 minutes, lifting the Sun Devils to a 72-68 win that ended their six-game losing streak. ASU’s senior point guard scored nine of his team-best 19 points after Cal held its final lead of the evening, 54-52 with 9:10 remaining.

Martin has been perfect against Cal, going 8-0 in his career dating back to his freshman year when he was a spunky reserve known more for his lengthy, wild hair and Filipino heritage than his considerable skills on the court.

On Thursday, Martin made the mundane plays like drawing fouls in the paint against Cal’s over-anxious defenders as well as the spectacular ones like his circus shot while falling on his back to put ASU up 60-56 with 7:02 left.

Meanwhile Cal missed makeable shots in falling behind 9-3 and then 15-5 only to rally and lead 30-29 at halftime. Eventually Cal’s 39 percent shooting–including 17 missed 3-point shots–and their 15 turnovers leading to 20 points for ASU was too much to overcome.

“We didn’t play stable enough throughout the game,” Cal coach Mark Fox said. “Good teams will make you pay.”

ASU wasn’t completely stabile either as they surged to sizeable leads in both halves only to allow Cal to recover. The Sun Devils’ questionable shot selection was the biggest culprit, something they fell prey to in the six-game slide that included back-to-back, narrow losses to Arizona and an overtime loss to USC.

Still ASU prevailed, shooting 57 percent in the second half to create some distance between themselves and Cal (7-11, 2-9).

Matt Bradley led Cal with 26 points–just off his career-high–but he needed 20 shots from the floor and 11 free throw attempts to get there. Clearly favoring his two injured ankles, the junior guard wasn’t at his explosive best, but he battled in the absence of any other scoring sources outside Andre Kelly (16 points, 13 rebounds).

“I thought he played super-hard,” Fox said of Bradley. “A lot of those things he’s always finished didn’t quite go in tonight. He’s a little bit out of rhythm and still got to get some conditioning back.”

Grant Anticevich and Makale Foreman each made just one basket finishing a combined 2 for 12 from the floor. With Cal trailing 72-66 with 18 seconds left Anticevich was stripped by Martin as ASU’s defensive quickness gave Cal fits throughout the game.

“We’ve been knocking on the door in several games over the last couple of weeks,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “Glad we were able to break through.”

The Bears finish their trip in Tucson on Saturday where they will face Arizona, which lost to Stanford on Thursday.