Jake Wilkins made like his Hall of Fame father on a key alley-oop dunk, Nojus Indrusaitis poured in a game-high 30 points and Cal pulled away from Radford late for an 84-70 nonconference victory Wednesday night in Berkeley, Calif.
Wilkins finished with 13 points and Michael Cooper added 16 off the bench for the Golden Bears (2-0), who struggled with the Highlanders (0-2) until the final 12 minutes.
Frederik Erichsen produced a team-high 16 points for Radford, which had opened its season across the bay with a 76-62 loss at San Francisco on Monday.
Down by 45-37 at the break and 48-37 in the second minute of the second half, Radford used a 14-4 burst to get within one on a Tristan Gross layup at the 12:37 mark.
A steal by Parby Kabamba gave the visitors a chance to take their first lead since the opening minutes, but Cooper swiped a Gross pass and lobbed to Wilkins, who slammed down a dunk that got the Golden Bears rolling.
Wilkins is the son of Dominique Wilkins, who starred at Georgia before beginning an NBA career that featured nine All-Star appearances. Son Jake began his college career with the Bulldogs before transferring to Cal this season.
Jordan Ross followed Wilkins’ hoop with a three-point play, and the Golden Bears gradually distanced themselves from the Highlanders from there.
Indrusaitis, who had 20 points in his Cal debut on Monday during a 115-86 home win over Adams State, shot 10-for-15 overall and 6-for-10 from 3-point range en route to his second consecutive career-high scoring effort. He previously played for Iowa State and Pitt.
The Golden Bears shot 17-for-35 (48.6%) from beyond the arc, outscoring the Highlanders 51-21 from deep.
Ross contributed eight points and a game-high seven assists to the winning cause.
Erichsen pulled down eight rebounds for Radford, while Ja’Corey Robinson collected a game-high nine rebounds to go with eight points and a team-high five assists. Mathieu Grujicic had nine points and three steals for the Highlanders.
–Field Level Media
