Michael Cooper and Nojus Indrusaitis combined for 44 points in their Cal basketball debuts, Sammie Yeanay added a career-best 21 and the Golden Bears ran away from Division II Adams State of Colorado en route to a 115-86 nonconference romp Monday night in Berkeley, Calif.
Cooper had 24 points off the bench and Indrusaitis contributed 20 to the cause for Cal.
Yeanay, in his second year in the Cal program after starting his college career at Grand Canyon, and Indrusaitis, who played last season at Pitt, had 15 points apiece in the first half as the Golden Bears quickly left the Grizzlies in the dust.
Adams State hung within 13-10 four minutes into the game before Cal used an 18-4 run to build a 17-point lead. Yeanay, Indrusaitis and Cooper, a transfer from Wright State, all had 3-pointers in the spurt.
A 3-pointer by Nathan Day had the Grizzlies within 36-23 just past the midpoint of the half before Cal went on another run, this one a 13-2 flurry that broke the game wide open. Jovani Ruff had three consecutive Golden Bears hoops, including two dunks, in the runaway.
Cal, a 22-win team last season, was more than halfway to its school record of 127 points, set against Oklahoma City in 1972, when it went into halftime up 66-37. However, the Golden Bears managed just a 49-49 draw in the final 20 minutes.
Cooper finished one point shy of his career-high on 8-for-13 shooting. He had six of Cal’s 11 3-pointers on just eight attempts.
Yeanay, who had a 1.6 scoring average in his first two seasons of college ball, shot 6-for-8 and also found time for six rebounds and five steals, while Indrusaitis also logged a career-best point total, making seven of his 11 shots.
The Golden Bears shot 60.6% overall and 47.8% from beyond the arc.
Jake Wilkins added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds in his Cal debut, while Jordan Ross had a game-high nine assists to complement 12 points.
Emilek Jallow paced a balanced attack with 19 points for the Grizzlies, who went 18-11 last season. The game was counted as an exhibition for Adams State, while it was an official contest for Cal.
Ivan Dorn Jr. collected a team-high seven rebounds to go with 10 points for Adams State, while Ta’Veus Randle chipped in with 16 points, Day 15, Jerrick Guidry 11 and Jeremiah Williams 10.
–Field Level Media
