Cal Falters After Racing to 16-Point Halftime Lead at Missouri

The Tigers shoot 85 percent from the field in the second half to overcome the Bears

Mark Madsen / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

What shaped up as a terrific early-season road win for the Cal basketball team unraveled in the second half at Columbia, Missouri on Tuesday night.

The Bears used late run in the first half to pull out to a 51-35 lead against Missouri, but everything went south once the second half began. Cal led by as many as 18 points before intermission.

“Give them credit, they completely dominated us in the second half,” coach Mark Madsen said. “They came out with much more energy, much more tenacity than us in the second half."

The Tigers shot a sizzling 85 percent (22 for 26) over the second half and outscored Cal 63-42 on the way to a 98-93 victory in the SEC-ACC Challenge. They made their first eight field-goal attempts of the half while the Bears cooled.

Missouri, which hadn’t led since 15-14, outscored the Bears 30-13 over the first 9 minutes of the second half for a 65-64 advantage. They was part of a 9-0 run that made it 69-64.

A dunk by center Mady Sissoki gave the Bears their last lead with 8:39 to play. Cal tied the score three more times but Missouri was relentless and led by 5 or 6 points for much of the final 4 minutes.

Cal (6-2) remains winless all-time on the road vs. SEC opponents. Missouri, in its third season coached by former Cal guard Dennis Gates, improved to 7-1.

“Our whole game plan was limit turnovers and get back on defense,” Madsen said. “First half we did it. Second half they absolutely dominated us.”

Andrej Stojakovic led the Bears with a career-high 26 points and freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson had another strong game with 19 points before fouling out with 4:26 left.

Rytis Petraitis added 17 points and point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. had 13 points and eight assists in his return to action after missing three games with an injury. Sissoki had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Bears played for the fourth straight game without starters BJ Omot and DJ Campbell.