Cal Topples USC For First Non-Conference Road Win in Seven Years

Andrej Stojakovic scores 20 points, Jovan Blacksher Jr. 19 as Bears improve to 3-1

Jovan Blacksher Jr. celebrates / Photo by Antonio Cancino

Cal traveled to a familiar venue to record its first non-conference road victory in nearly seven years on Sunday night.

The Bears led most of the second half at USC’s Galen Center before taking home a 71-66 victory. At 3-1, Cal is off to its best start since 2019-20.

Andrej Stojakovic equaled his career-high with 20 points and blocked a shot with 15 seconds left, and point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., scored 18 of his 19 points in the first half.

While beating their former long-time Pac-12 rival, the Bears won a non-conference game on its opponent’s home court for the first time since a December 2017 victory over Seattle U.

Cal was 13-19 last season under first-year coach Mark Madsen, who inherited a program that won just three games the year before. Now, still 11 days before Thanksgiving, the Bears already have three victories.

Back with the team after the birth of his fifth child, Madsen said the squad’s developing chemistry and togetherness is making a tangible difference.

“When you have that, great things are possible,” he said. “We had a great win tonight but there is so much more work to do. We’re continuing to build this program into a national powerhouse.”

USC (3-1), under first-year coach Eric Musselman, took a 64-63 lead when forward Saint Thomas muscled a shot from the lane over shorter defender DJ Campbell with 6:30 to play.

The 6-foot-2 Campbell had played well, scoring seven second-half points, but the Bears needed a better matchup so Madsen went with 6-7 forward Joshua Ola-Joseph, who helped take away the Trojans’ inside scoring option.

BJ Omot responded with a 3-pointer to give Cal the lead for good, at 66-64, with 4:53 left.

Ola-Joseph converted a drive for a 68-64 lead with 1:51 remaining before Desmond Claude did the same thing for USC 15 seconds later. But that was the only basket in 10 shot attempts the Trojans converted over the final 6 minutes.

Ola-Joseph kept a possession alive with an offensive rebound that led to two free throws by Stojakovic, pushing the Bears to a 70-66 advantage with 21 seconds left. Stojakovic then blocked a layup attempt by Claude and Blacksher emerged with a loose ball defensive rebound before making a final free throw with 0.2 seconds to play.

Madsen was pleased with an assortment of players, starting with Ola-Joseph, who had six points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes on the floor. “He went in there and made some huge plays on the defense end,” Madsen said. “He was a huge part of why we won that game.”

Stojakovic was aggressive from the start, attacking the basket rather than relying on his 3-point shot. “Andrej’s game is still unfolding before our eyes because he does things in practice he hasn’t done in games yet,” Madsen said.

Blacksher gave the Trojans fits in the first half, hitting 7 of 8 from the field, including 4 for 5 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Trojans adjusted in the second half, never leaving him to double-team elsewhere and Blacksher never forced anything.

"The words that come to mind with Jovan Blacksher are leadership, composure, great floor general. He’s a guy who never gets rattled,” Madsen said. “He was able to make his teammates better at every step of the way. He’s a true winner.”

The Bears again got a solid contribution from their tag team center duo of Mady Sissoko (nine points, five rebounds, one blocked shot) and Lee Dort (two points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks).

The Bears return home Thursday to face Air Force in the Cal Classic. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Haas Pavilion.