It was some kind of night for freshman Davonte Lacy.

Lacy stepped up in a big way, as he gave the Cougars (11-8, 3-4) a three-point lead with 17 seconds remaining as the Cougs defeated their second straight conference leader in California (16-5, 6-2) by a score of 77-75.

Lacy discussed the big-time shot after the game. He finished the game with 14 points, but none bigger than the go-ahead three.

“It was just developed for Reggie to come off a pick and roll and make a play,” Lacy said. “With him being such a great point guard he found me and god willing the ball went in and the foul. It was just a good play by our team.”

Head Coach Ken Bone said he wasn’t sure the ball would end up in Lacy’s hands towards the finish.

“We ran a play, did not know for sure if it’d go to Davonte, but he was open- a nice pass was made, and fortunately he hit the shot,”

Extra possessions guided Cal to a 40-34 halftime lead. At the break, WSU was simply getting out-muscled on the glass. Fortunately, the Cougs turned it around in the second half, as they out-rebounded Cal 33-30 for the game.

The Golden Bears hauled in four offensive rebounds during the first half compared to only five defensive rebounds for the Cougars.

Aden continued his hot play as he led all scorers with 16 points on 7-8 shooting from the floor in the first half. It was obvious he was the most talented player while he was on the floor as he was getting to the hoop at will.

Fresh off of a 33-point performance, Bone said Aden was crucial to the Cougars’ success as of late.

“He had a great weekend, most coaches would start him,” Bone said. “He scored a lot of points, he helped us win both games, he also did a lot of other good things for us. Unfortunately, he had five turnovers and no assists but he did have a really good game.”

Jorge Gutierrez led the Bears with 13 points on 5-10 shooting in the first half.

The crowd got energized as Glenn Johnson introduced Cougar Head Football Coach Mike Leach during halftime. As the football squad had 12 recruits visiting this weekend, Leach used the session to pitch all things WSU.

The Cougars tied the game at 44 as Lacy scored a quick five points from a reverse lay up and a three pointer.

WSU could not sustain the lead, as Cal went on a 12-2 run to push the score to 56-49, as the Cougars turned the ball over three times during the stretch. Two of the turnovers led directly to Golden Bears’ dunks.

The Cougars cut the lead to two at 60-58 following a five-point swing by Brock Motum. After being held in check for a majority of the first half, the big man came to life in the second half as he connected on 5-6 free throws in the half.

He finished the game with 15 points and ten rebounds during the contest.

Bone said the Cougars were looking to Motum on offense but Cal’s defense was stifling.

“We want Brock to get touches because we do think he’s a good scorer and yet tonight, he only got seven shots,” Bone said. “Part of that is due to California’s defense, they are a very very good and physical defensive team.”

WSU got the lead back with 3:30 remaining in the game after a pair of Marcus Caper’s free throws. The game went back-and-forth in the final minutes with both teams trading leads.

The Cougars controlled the ball with less than a minute remaining and then Lacy came through in the clutch.

The freshman was on the left wing as Reggie Moore found him. Lacy hoisted up the go-ahead three pointer while drawing the foul to give the Cougs a 77-74 lead.

Cal could not connect on their final three point attempts as the Cougars got the 77-75 win.

Motum said the team is really improving and the win is giving the Cougs a lot of momentum.

“I think we’ve gotten better each game in the Pac-12,” Motum said. “I think tonight was just another step forward. Cal’s a really good team and they put a really good fight the whole night.”