BERKELEY – Andrej Stojakovic scored a career-high 31 points to lead the California men's basketball team to an 84-66 win against Northwestern State on Saturday afternoon inside of Haas Pavilion.
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The 18-point victory was Cal's (7-4) first in more than two weeks, snapping a three-game skid. Stojakovic was dominant in multiple facets of the game, scoring his 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor – including 4 of 6 from deep – to go along with seven rebounds, four assists to one turnover and three blocks.
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Stojakovic's 31 points marked the sixth time in the past eight games that he's scored at least 20 and are the most points scored by a Golden Bear in a single game since Jordan Shepherd dropped 33 at Oregon on Feb. 12, 2022.
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The Bears led by just three at halftime, 36-33, as Northwestern State (4-6) stayed close with 10 points off seven Cal turnovers and another seven points on second chances. Cal took control quickly in the second half, however, using an 11-2 run to lead by 12 at the 17-minute mark.
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Cal stretched its lead out to as many as 19 with 10:37 remaining in the contest and knocked down 10 of its 12 3-pointers in the second half, including three by Stojakovic and two apiece by
Jovan Blacksher Jr.,
Joshua Ola-Joseph and
Jeremiah Wilkinson.
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Wilkinson tallied 16 of his 18 points in the second half while Ola-Joseph and Blacksher Jr. scored 13 and 12, respectively. Cal shot 52.8% from the floor (28 of 53) and 48% from 3-point range (12 of 25) on the way to their sixth straight game with 80 points or more.
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UP NEXT
The Bears finish nonconference play against San Diego State next Saturday, Dec. 21, in the San Jose Tip-Off. The neutral-site contest will be played at SAP Center in San Jose and tips off at 7:30 p.m. PT on ACC Network.
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