Shooting Woes Doom Cal in Road Loss to North Carolina
Cal’s problems have mostly been on defense this season but feeble offense doomed the Bears at North Carolina on Wednesday night.
They made just one of their first 19 shots from 3-point range and star sophomore Andrej Stojakovic had his toughest game of the season in a 79-53 Atlantic Coast Conference defeat at Chapel Hill, NC.
Cal (8-9, 1-5) lost for the eighth time in its past 10 games and fell to 1-5 all-time vs. the Tar Heels. UNC (12-6, 5-1) won its fourth straight game and sixth in the past seven.
The Bears shot 35 percent from the field and made only 3 of 25 attempts from beyond the arc while posting their second-lowest scoring total of the season.
“We’ve got to figure it out — we’ve got to knock down some of those open 3’s,” Cal coach Mark Madsen said.
Later, Madsen -- a consistently upbeat coaach -- was critical of his team's effort level in the second half. "We battled in the first half," he said. "Our effort this year from the first game until parts of this game has been one of our strengths. Our effort was lacking in the second half. energy. I told the team that in the locker room after the game."
Madsen said it's on him to figure out what caused the drop in effort, adding that it cannot continue to happen.
Stojakovic, who entered the night ranked second in the ACC with a 20.3 scoring average, had just two points at halftime and finished with six on 3-for-13 shooting.
Madsen credited the UNC defense, which routinely double-teamed Stojakovic when he had the ball near the basket. He also said Stojakovic has been dealing with a physical issue that kept him out of several recent practices and the Bears weren't even sure he would play Wednesday night.
Freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson, the team’s No. 2 scorer at 12.5 points per game, was scoreless, missing all eight of his shots. And senior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., scored just five points on 2 for 12. The three combined to go 1 for 16 on 3’s.
“It was difficult (for them) but we definitely had opportunities,” Madsen said.
One bright spot for the Bears was senior center Mady Sissoko, whose 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting matched his career high of two seasons ago against against Kentucky when he was playing at Michigan State. Sissoko also had eight rebounds.
“Mady was phenomenal,” Madsen said. “Mady had some great moments tonight. He was one guy who fought the entire night.”
Freshman Ian Jackson had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Tar Heels, who won decisively despite getting just seven points on 2-for-9 shooting from top scorer R.J. Davis.
Cal trailed just 48-39 after a dunk by Sissoko with 13:31 to play, but the Tar Heels responded with a 15-0 run fueled by their fastbreak, hiking their lead to 63-39 with 7:45 left. "Really where they got us was in transition," Madsen said. "They pushed it down our throat after we kind of narrowed it down. They got momentum and they broke it open."
Carolina outscored Cal 16-2 in fastbreak points
Stojakovic had another rough first half and the Bears trailed 39-29 at the break. Over his past three first halves, Stojakovic is a combined 2 for 19 for eight points.
Of course, in the two previous games he came alive to total 41 points after halftime. He managed just four second-half points in this one as the Tar Heels made him a defensive focus.
The Bears shot 38 percent (13 for 34) in the half, including 1 for 11 on 3-point tries.
Sissoko had eight points and six rebounds for the Bears in the first half, keying their 9-2 advantage in second-chance points. Joshua Ola-Joseph ascored eight of his 10 points in the opening half.
UNC never trailed after the first 2 minutes of the game and led by as any as 12 points late in the half. The Tar Heels made 13 of their first 19 shots and finished the half at 57 percent (17 for 30).
Cal returns to action Saturday afternoon at North Carolina State.