ASU grinded out a tough 80-75 road win against Cal on Sunday afternoon to win its fifth conference game in a row.
Junior guard Remy Martin scored 22 points for the Sun Devils (17-8, 8-4 Pac-12), tied for a game high. Martin added three 3-pointers and dished five assists despite finding himself in foul trouble early, picking up two fouls by the halfway point of the first half.
Junior guard Alonzo Verge Jr. scored 22 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished two assists coming off the bench.
ASU struggled with rebounding in the first half, as the Golden Bears held a 20-12 advantage on the boards through the first 20 minutes.
Cal junior forward Grant Anticevich challenged ASU's defense early, scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds in the first half.
Anticevich finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in total for the Golden Bears (10-15, 4-8).
No Sun Devils scored double digit points in the first half, but the team managed to take a 32-31lead after the first period, as all but two Sun Devils scored at least one basket in that time frame.
The second half was evenly matched. Both teams frequently traded baskets, keeping ASU from building a lead no larger than nine in the final period.
But, Martin's 15 second-half points supported by Verge's 10 free throws in the period kept Cal away from taking the lead, even as the Golden Bears made five baskets in the last minute to cut the deficit to three.
ASU returns to Tempe to play Oregon on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at cvanligt@asu.edu and follow @Connor_VL on Twitter.
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