Cal Edged By Stanford In ACC Opener

Andrej Stojakovic scored 25 points against his former team in Cal’s 89-81 loss to Stanford.

MBB12/7/2024 4:59 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Second-Half Rally Not Enough For Bears In 89-81 Loss

BERKELEY – California got 25 points from Andrej Stojakovic and another 14 from Jovan Blacksher Jr. but came up short in an 89-81 loss to rival Stanford in the programs’ inaugural ACC men’s basketball game at Haas Pavilion on Saturday.

 

The Golden Bears (6-3, 0-1 ACC) never led and trailed by as many as 20 points with 5:37 to go before rallying to cut their deficit to 83-77 when Joshua Ola-Joseph sank a 3-pointer with 2:13 left. Stojakovic banked in another 3 with 1:21 on the clock to make it 83-77, but Cal could not get closer.

 

Jaylen Blakes and Maxime Raynaud scored 20 points apiece for Stanford (8-2, 1-0). Blakes sank 7 of 13 shots with two 3-pointers and made all four of his free throws for the Cardinal. He added six assists and blocked a pair of shots. Raynaud made 8 of 15 shots – 4 of 6 from beyond the arc – and blocked five shots.

 

After trailing by 10 less than four minutes into the contest, Cal tied the game at 29-29 with 4:53 before halftime on four straight points from Ola-Joseph – who finished with nine points and eight rebounds – and a layup by Stojakovic. Stanford then closed the half on an 18-2 run to take a 47-31 lead into the intermission.

 

The Bears had a season-low five assists, all coming in the second half. They won the rebounding battle 39-29 – including 20 offensive boards – and out-gained Stanford 23-9 in second-chance points. Stanford finished the game at 52.6% shooting from the floor and 47.8% from beyond the arc (11 of 23).

 

Stojakovic, playing his first game against his former team, finished 11 of 25 from the floor. Mady Sissoko finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

 

UP NEXT

Cal stays at home to host Cornell on Tuesday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. PT in Haas Pavilion.

 

SUPPORT THE BEARS

Tickets for the 2024-25 campaign can be purchased by visiting CalBears.com/Tickets, calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277) or emailing goldstandard@berkeley.edu. Fans can support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men’s Basketball Excellence Initiative or the California Legends Collective.

 

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