Berkeley, California—Jovan Blacksher Jr. led the California Golden Bears to a 91-73 victory over Cal Poly, scoring 18 points and hitting four 3-pointers. Andrej Stojakovic added 15 points as Cal rallied from an early double-digit deficit to improve to 2-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season, which they started with four wins.
Cal showed strong shooting from beyond the arc, going 11 of 26 on 3-point attempts. Rytis Petraitis contributed 13 points off the bench, BJ Omot added 10, and Lee Dort grabbed 11 rebounds along with eight points.
Cal Poly’s Issac Jessup led the Mustangs with 20 points, hitting 5 of 9 from 3-point range before fouling out. Owen Koonce scored 11 points, and the Mustangs finished 10 of 26 from beyond the arc. However, 18 turnovers proved costly, leading to 29 points for Cal.
Ahead by four at halftime, Cal pulled away in the second half with three consecutive 3-pointers—two from Omot—creating a double-digit lead. The Bears’ bench fueled an 11-0 run midway through the half, stretching the lead to 14. Although Cal Poly narrowed the gap to 12 with four minutes remaining, they couldn’t close the deficit.
The Mustangs started strong, hitting five 3-pointers, including two each from Jessup and Jarred Hyder, to build a 12-point lead early. Cal responded with a flurry of 3s from Blacksher and Christian Tucker, eventually taking the lead during a 13-2 run. They held a nine-point advantage before ending the half up 39-35.
Cal Poly, now 0-2, is under new head coach Mike McGeorge, who joined from Division II Colorado Mesa, bringing four players with him, including Jessup. Hyder, a former Cal player, also started in the game.
