Cameron Corhen and Nojus Indrusaitis scored 16 points apiece to lead Pittsburgh to a 72-56 upset win over Cal in Berkeley on Saturday.
Corhen put together an efficient offensive performance for the visitors, shooting 7-of-10 from the field while Indrusaitis made 6-of-11 attempts overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Barry Dunning Jr. chipped in 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting, in addition to grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.
Pittsburgh (11-18) moves to 4-12 in ACC play, which moves them ahead of Notre Dame for 15th place in the ACC due to the head-to-head advantage. That’s crucial because only the top 15 finishers in the regular season make the ACC Tournament.
The game was essentially a must-win for Cal’s at-large NCAA Tournament hopes, as the Golden Bears (20-9) now sit at 8-8 in ACC play after starting 12-1 in nonconference play. Saturday’s shortcoming will go down as Cal’s first Quad 3 loss of the season, but the timing of it all but dashes the program’s already thinning hopes at ending a decade-long tournament drought.
Cal appeared to flip the momentum early in the second half after being outscored 34-26 in the first. However, the Golden Bears were then held scoreless for a 4:53 stretch near the midway point of the second half, allowing Pittsburgh to go on a 7-0 run that was too much for the hosts to overcome.
Dai Dai Ames led Cal with 11 points in the loss, shooting 5-of-12 from the field. Lee Dort finished with 10 points on a more efficient 4-of-5 shooting, while John Camden added 9 points on 4-of-11 from the field overall (1-of-6 from 3-point range).
The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Golden Bears, who had clawed their way back into the bubble conversation with their recent run. But Cal never led in this affair.
–Field Level Media
