BERKELEY -- The California men's basketball team never trailed in another double-digit win at Haas Pavilion as the Golden Bears tacked up a 93-65 victory over visiting Cal State Fullerton. Four Bears hit double digits for the third straight game as Cal opens the season 3-0 for the first time since 2019. Tonight's win also marked
Mark Madsen's 100th career victory as a head coach. The Titans are now 1-2 overall.
Cal buried six first-half 3-pointers and dished out 10 assists to build a 42-27 lead on the Titans by the break. The Bears were shooting 40 percent overall to edge out Cal State Fullerton's 35.3 percent outing, and Cal was up on the boards 25-20. The Bears buried five more 3-pointers in the second half as
Dai Dai Ames set a new career high with six threes made. Cal finished out the game shooting 41.2 percent overall to outpace Cal State Fullerton's 39.1 percent, and the Bears won the rebounding battle 45-42 while serving up 17 total assists.Â
Ames led all scorers with 24 points and had three other Bears in double digits alongside him, with
John Camden finishing with 16,
Chris Bell with 14 and
Justin Pippen with 14 along with six assists. The Titans were led by Landon Seaman's 20 points, along with 12 from Josh Ward.
Dai Dai Ames was hot out of the gates for Cal, going 3-for-3 from 3-point range and then getting into double digits moments later to help the Bears to a 17-9 lead four minutes into the action.
Lee Dort fed
John Camden for buckets down low as well in Cal's early push to a 20-9 lead. With four assists already in the books,
Justin Pippen buried a 3-pointer of his own to net a 25-12 Cal lead with 11:00 on the clock. As the five-minute mark approached,
Chris Bell knocked down his first points of the night to spark a 6-0 Cal rally that saw Ames knock down two free throws and
Lee Dort hammer home a dunk for a 36-22 advantage. After a stretch of only free throws falling,
Milos Ilic broke the cycle with a three-point play that would wrap the half with the Bears ahead 42-27.
Cal State Fullerton brought the margin down to 10 until Ames and Camden both struck again from beyond the arc to take the hosts to a 50-34 lead three minutes into the second half. Bell joined the 3-point parade next to break up back-to-back Titan buckets, and a few minutes later Ames knocked down his career-high fifth 3-pointer to tug Cal on top 60-44 with 12:00 to go. Four minutes later the Bears were enjoying a 30-point cushion thanks in part to another Ames three, another three-point play from Ilic and a solid stretch of free throws to pin a 76-46 score on the board. Bell crossed the double-digit mark with a couple strikes down the stretch, lifting Cal ahead 82-51 with 4:20 to go. One more Bear would get in the scoring column before the close of the game, with Mantas Kocanas scoring back-to-back buckets in helping the Bears wrap a 93-65 win over the Titans.
NEXT:Â Cal sets off on its first road trip of the season, heading to Manhattan, Kansas, for a clash at Kansas State at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday (Nov. 13).Â
NOTABLE:
- With tonight's win,
Mark Madsen earned his 100th career victory as a head coach.
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Dai Dai Ames set a new career high with six 3-pointers made.
- Cal is off to a 3-0 start to the season for the first time since 2019-20.
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Dai Dai Ames (24 points),
John Camden (16 points) andÂ
Justin Pippen (15 points) each scored in double digits for the third straight game.
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Chris Bell scored a season-high 15 points and added a career-high seven rebounds.
- Pippen made a career-high nine free throws.
- Mantas Kocanas set his career high with four points scored and tied his career high rebounds with three tonight.
- This was Cal's third straight game of the season with four players scoring in double figures.
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