BERKELEY (AP) – The California men's basketball team erased an early double-digit lead and defeated Cal Poly 91-73 on Tuesday night to improve to 2-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
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Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second half and
Andrej Stojakovic added 15. Blacksher hit four 3-pointers and the Golden Bears (2-0) went 11 of 26 from the arc.
Rytis Petraitis scored 13 points off the bench and
BJ Omot had 10.
Lee Dort grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds to go with eight points.
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Leading by four at halftime, Cal opened the second half with three consecutive 3-pointers – two from Omot and one from Stojakovic – for a double-digit lead. The margin was 14 before Cal's bench provided all the points in an 11-0 run midway through the half. The Mustangs got within 12 with four minutes left but no closer.
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The Mustangs hit five 3-pointers – including two from Jarred Hyder, a 2023 Cal alumnus who played three seasons for the Bears between 2020-23 – in the first six minutes of the game in taking a 12-point lead. Cal responded with 3s by Blacksher and
Christian Tucker and eventually took the lead during a 13-2 run that included three consecutive 3s. The Bears led by as many as nine before going in the half ahead 39-35.
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Issac Jessup hit 5 of 9 3-point attempts and finished with 20 points to lead Cal Poly before fouling out. Owen Koonce added 11 points. The Mustangs made 10 of 26 3-point tries but gave up 18 turnovers, leading to 29 Cal points.
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UP NEXT
Cal hits the road for the first time to face Vanderbilt next Wednesday. Tipoff at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville is at 5 p.m. PT and the contest will be televised on SEC Network+. It will be the first meeting between Cal and Vanderbilt.
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