LOS ANGELES (AP) – Andrej Stojakovic tied a career high with 20 points,
Jovan Blacksher Jr. added 19 and
Joshua Ola-Joseph made several key plays down the stretch Sunday night to help California beat USC 71-66 at the Galen Center.
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Cal (3-1) earned its first road win against USC since Jan. 8, 2017 in what was the former Pac-12 rivals' first matchup as nonconference opponents since 1921. The Golden Bears have won two in a row against USC following 10 straight losses to the Trojans.
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Desmond Claude hit a jumper before Saint Thomas made back-to-back baskets in the paint to give USC (3-1) a 64-63 lead with 6:30 to play but the Trojans made 1 of 10 from the field thereon as Cal scored eight of the final 10 points.
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BJ Omot made a 3-pointer with 4:54 left and Ola-Joseph scored in the lane to give the Bears a four-point lead with 1:51 remaining. Ola-Joseph grabbed an offensive rebound before Stojakovic made two free throws with 21 seconds left and then blocked a shot by Claude.
Blacksher made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to cap the scoring just before the buzzer.
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Ola-Joseph finished with six points, seven rebounds and a steal – all in the final 12 minutes.
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Claude scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half and Thomas finished with 15 for USC. Wesley Yates III scored all his 10 points before halftime.
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The first half featured nine ties and 10 lead changes before Blacksher hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left that cut Cal's deficit to 43-42.
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Blacksher made 4 of 5 from 3-point range and matched his previous season high with 18 first-half points on 7-of-8 shooting.
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DJ Campbell hit a jumper and Stojakovic scored six consecutive Cal points before Campbell knocked down a 3-pointer to cap an 11-2 run that gave the Bears a six-point lead with 15:37 to play.
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