By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Foul trouble and poor shooting didn’t doom the Cal Bears, but the fatigue they carried into overtime certainly did.

Arizona State picked it up in the extra, five minutes, and escaped with a critical, 70-62 road win. The Sun Devils, who went from ice cold during a lengthy stretch in the second half to red hot in overtime, made it work with their incredible effort on the glass.

Coach Mark Fox felt the ASU rebounding was the deciding factor in what was otherwise a statistically even ballgame.

“I felt like defensively they were terrific,” Fox said of his Bears. “We just didn’t rebound it well. Gave up 20 offensive rebounds, and that’s probably the difference in the game.”

The visitors snagged 56 rebounds, a total they hadn’t reached since February 1996 in Pac-12 competition. That big advantage helped them survive 33 percent shooting and a stretch where they made just one of their 20 shots.

Reserves Grant Newell and Monty Bowser kept Cal in it with 14 points a piece, but foul trouble ultimately wore the hosts down as starters Lars Thiemann and Kuany Kuany played limited minutes.

“We don’t have any depth, and everyone knows we don’t have any depth,” Fox said. “Tonight, it showed in the overtime. We wore down a bit.”

Desmond Cambridge led ASU with 24 points, and DJ Horne added 12. As productive as they were spoaradic, those two typified the Sun Devils’ ragged play with 21 missed shots between them. But in the end, the visitors kept their NCAA Tournament aspirations alive with an unlikely Bay Area sweep.

“I don’t know if I want to be in a close game with (Cal) because we could get tight, just thinking about their record. I don’t think that happened. Our guys were pretty clutch down the stretch,” ASU coach Bob Hurley said.

The Bears have dropped nine straight and played in front of another small, disappointing crowd at Haas Pavilion. Given that, a trip to Los Angeles to face USC and UCLA might be the best medicine for Cal after their 22nd loss of the season.