Andrej Stojakovic thrilled the home fans with a career-high 31 points and California pulled away from visiting Northwestern State of Louisiana for an 84-66 nonconference victory Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif.
Joshua Ola-Joseph and Rytis Petraitis contributed 3-pointers to an 11-2 burst to open the second half. Jeremiah Wilkinson chipped in with 18 total points off the bench for the Golden Bears (7-4), who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Landyn Jumawan led the way with 15 points for the Demons (4-6), who had won their previous two games, both in Southland Conference play.
Seeking to end a skid that included a loss to Stanford in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener, Cal led just 36-33 at the break before Ola-Joseph’s 3-pointer ignited a surge. Stojakovic also had a 3-pointer in the run, as well as a layup, helping the Golden Bears go up 47-35 in the third minute of the period.
Northwestern State got no closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Stojakovic, whose previous high had been 26 points in a loss at Missouri last week, hit 10 of his 14 shots, including four of his six 3-point attempts. He also found time for seven rebounds, and team high with four assists and three blocks.
Wilkinson added 7-for-11 accuracy from the field as Cal outshot the visitors 52.8 percent to 43.1 percent.
Ola-Joseph finished with 13 points and Jovan Blacksher Jr. 12, while Petraitis snatched a team-high eight rebounds to complement seven points and two assists.
Cal outscored Northwestern State 36-24 in points on 3-pointers and 16-8 at the free-throw line.
Jumawan did most of his scoring from beyond the arc, going 4-for-7. His teammates combined to shoot just 4-for-13 from deep, however.
Jon Sanders II was Northwestern State’s top rebounder and assist man with six apiece to go with 10 points and two steals, while Love Bettis came off the visitors’ bench to contribute 12 points and four assists.
–Field Level Media
