BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Allen Crabbe scored 12 points in the second half and No. 24 California overcame a sluggish start to beat UC San Diego 88-53 in an exhibition game on Tuesday night.
Crabbe, the Pac-12's freshman of the year last season, missed three of his first four shots and had only two points at halftime. He responded with eight points in a quick burst following the break, and later scored on consecutive trips down the court when the Golden Bears built a 67-39 lead.
Reserve Justin Cobbs had 17 points for the Bears, who open the regular season next week against Irvine. Harper Kamp added 10 points and Jorge Gutierrez, Cal's leading scorer a year ago, had seven points and four assists.
Coach Mike Montgomery's team, which returns four starters from last year, looked sharp after a rough start.
The Bears led by nine at halftime, then went on a 22-4 run after intermission. Crabbe sparked the surge, and Kamp and Richard Solomon added five points apiece during the burst.
Jeff Powers, who finished with 12 points, made a jumper with 1:34 left to give Cal its biggest lead at 88-50 before Dylan Bohanan made a 3-pointer for UC San Diego.
Christian Hatch, the Division II Tritons' leading scorer last season, had 14 points and seven rebounds. San Diego, which lost to Utah State in an exhibition game last Friday, played without injured starters Justin Brue and James McCann.
Before Crabbe took over in the second half, Cal leaned heavily on Cobbs.
A sophomore who sat out last year after transferring from Minnesota, Cobbs scored 16 of Cal's final 24 points before halftime and punctuated his strong debut at Haas Pavilion by driving the length of the floor and scoring on a three-point play with 3.9 seconds left.
Robert Thurman, who played sparingly last season, added eight points and three rebounds to help the Bears to a 41-32 lead at the break.
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