Andrej Stojakovic scored 29 points and 15th-seeded Cal, playing in its first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, scored the first eight points of the second overtime session to defeat 10th-seeded Virginia Tech 82-73 in a first-round game Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C.
Rytis Petraitis added 16 points for the Golden Bears (14-18), who won for the second time in their last nine games. They lost in quadruple overtime Saturday at Notre Dame.
Cal meets No. 7 seed Stanford, which received a first-round bye, in the second round Wednesday night.
Brandon Rechsteiner racked up 19 points, Tobi Lawal had 17, Mylyjael Poteat added 13 and Jaydon Young posted 12 for Virginia Tech (13-19).
Rechsteiner’s 3-pointer put the Hokies up 65-61 in the first overtime before Petraitis notched the next four points. Lawal made a pair of free throws with 48 seconds remaining before Stojakovic matched those with 27 seconds to go, tying the score at 67.
Late in regulation, Cal led 59-55 on Stojakovic’s basket before both teams went two minutes without scoring.
Poteat brought the Hokies within two points with a basket with 1:11 remaining. Virginia Tech got the ball back after Stojakovic missed a shot.
Rechsteiner’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 27.6 seconds left came from the left corner after he received a pass from Young who had driven toward the lane. It was only the second successful 3-pointer in 18 attempts for the Hokies at that point in the game.
The Bears had a chance to retake the lead, but Jeremiah Wilkinson couldn’t convert. DJ Campbell’s steal gave Cal another opportunity, and he went to the free throw line with five seconds to play, making one of two attempts as the game went to overtime tied at 60.
The margin never exceeded five points in the first half, which ended with Virginia Tech holding a 34-31 lead.
For the game, the teams combined to shoot 8-for-51 on shots from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
