CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The No. 9 seed California men's basketball team was unable to overcome a rough first half in tonight's ACC Tournament Second Round, taking a 95-89 loss to No. 8 seed Florida State at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Golden Bears got the margin down to single digits late, but first-half turnovers and hot-shooting Seminoles spelled doom for Cal in the loss. The Bears are now 21-11 overall, while FSU goes to 18-11.

Seven first-half turnovers by Cal and seven 3-pointers landed by FSU in the first half made it a tough road for the Bears in the first 20 minutes. The Seminoles outscored Cal 21-2 to take control of things, shooting 52.9 percent overall in the half to outpace the Bears' 40.7 percent effort. Cal picked things up in the second half but was unable to catch FSU, which finished the game shooting 57.4 percent with 13 threes made to keep the Bears at bay. Cal wrapped at 50.8 percent and outscored the Seminoles 57-49 in the second half while ultimately falling short of comeback hopes. The Bears did win the battle of the boards 38-26 but committed 12 turnovers that FSU converted into 20 points on the night. 

Cal was led by Dai Dai Ames' 27 points, while Chris Bell added 17, Justin Pippen had 15, and John Camden scored 11. Lee Dort hauled in a career-high 18 rebounds for the Bears. Florida State received 30 points from Robert McCray V along with double digits from Lajae Jones (15), Chauncey Wiggins (14) and Kobe McGee (13).

"Obviously a tough loss for us today," Cal head coach Mark Madsen said. "We battled back. We were right there. A chance to make it a one or two-possession game late. We had a little spell in the early part where we faltered. But I'm so incredibly proud of this team. They picked this group of guys in the media preseason poll right at the bottom of the conference, and here they were as the ninth seed, battling, fighting."

Justin Pippen delivered assists on scores from Lee Dort and John Camden around a bucket of his own as Cal mounted a 7-0 surge in the early goings to lead it 9-2 four minutes into the action. The Seminoles countered with a 10-0 rally to edge into the lead, hitting some key 3-pointers to help build a 22-15 FSU advantage at 10:30. Camden broke up that push with a jumper, only to see FSU punch up 11 straight points to go ahead 28-15 at the 8-minute mark. Dai Dai Ames buried back-to-back threes to give the Bears a boost, and he'd get into double digits on the night with a jumper that made the margin 34-25 with 3:40 remaining in the half. FSU pressed on, though, and would net its seventh 3-pointer of the half to take a 46-32 lead into the locker room.

FSU expanded its advantage with more success from beyond the arc, with four more falling in an eight-minute span to get the Seminoles out ahead 72-50. Cal managed a 6-0 push as Ames moved into his 11th 20-point game of the season and Chris Bell knocked down a jumper in the lane to make it 81-65 with 6:30 to go. Camden and Bell buried threes for the Bears three minutes later to get the deficit to 88-73, and Cal kept pushing to make it a single-digit deficit at 92-83 on a three from Bell with 28 ticks to go. Cal got a couple late threes to go, but it wasn't enough, and the Bears were left with a 95-89 loss to the Seminoles.

NEXT: Cal now awaits the reveal of postseason tournament selections. The NCAA Selection Show will take place at 3 p.m. PT on Sunday, broadcast on CBS.

NOTABLE:
- With 27 points, Dai Dai Ames scored in double digits for the 28th time this season.
- With a career-high 18 rebounds, Lee Dort hauled in double-digit rebounds for the seventh time this season and ninth time in his career. 
- It was the most single-game rebounds by a Bear since 2023.
- Ames has now scored 20 or more points 12 times this season..
- With 17 points, Chris Bell hit double digits for the 24th time this season.
- With 11 points, John Camden scored in double digits for the 23rd time this season.
- WIth 15 points, Justin Pippen hit double figures for the 25th time this season.

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