BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Andrej Stojakovic went 11 of 15 from the free throw line and scored 20 points as California held off a late rally to beat Sacramento State 83-77 in the Cal Classic on Sunday.
Cal entered the tournament without three starters, Jovan Blacksher Jr., DJ Campbell and BJ Omot, and the Golden Bears picked up back-to-back wins over Air Force and the Hornets. Stojakovic scored a career-high 21 points and freshman guard Jeremiah Wilkinson chipped in with a career-best 23 points against the Falcons. Against Sacramento State, Wilkinson came off the bench with 16 points.
Sacramento State took an early 12-7 lead after Emil Skytta hit a pair of free throws five minutes into the game, but Wilkinson hit back-to-back buckets and Stojakovic was fouled on a three-point attempt, hitting all three fouls. to take a 14-12 lead and the Bears pulled away to take a 40-33 lead into the break. Julian Vaughns knocked down three minutes into the second half to pull Sacramento State even at the 43, and his free throw put the Hornets ahead. Ryan Petraitis and Wilkinson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Cal up 51-47, and the Bears never trailed.
Petraitis finished with 13 points, five assists and three steals for Cal (5-1). Joshua Ola-Joseph and Mady Sissoko each added 10 points.
Jacob Holt scored 25 points with eight rebounds, two assists and a steal to lead Sacramento State (1-4). Vaughns scored 18 points and EJ Neal added 16.
The game was just the third meeting between the schools, separated by about 80 miles, and the first since 1992.
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Associated Press