Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
Cal Basketball: Golden Bears Go For 3-0 Start vs. Cal Baptist in 2K Empire Classic
CAL (2-0) vs. CAL BAPTIST (2-1)
WHERE: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
WHAT: 2K Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project
TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Networks/810-AM
CAL-CAL BAPTIST HISTORY: First meeting (Cal beat Cal Baptist 81-73 in an exhibition to open the 2016-17 season).
CAL STORYLINES: The matchup is the first of two regional round games the Bears will play at home in the 2K Empire Classic Benefing Wounded Warrior Project. Cal faces Prairie View A&M on Monday, then treks to New York play at Madison Square Garden on Thursday against Duke and Friday against either Texas or Georgetown. The Bears will advance to the games in New York City regardless of the outcome of the regional-round games. . . . Sophomore Matt Bradley (24.0 points) has scored 20-plus points in each of the first two games. He is shooting 57% (8-for-14) from 3-point range. . . . Three other Bears are averaging double digits: Kareem South (14.0), Andre Kelly (12.5) and Paris Austin (12.0). . . . The Bears were shooting 54.1 percent from the field to rank 13th in the nation as of Thursday night. A year ago, Cal ranked 271st nationally at 42.6 percent. . . . Cal has not started 3-0 since posting a 4-0 mark in 2015-16.
CAL BAPTIST STORYLINES: The Lancers, in their second season as part of a four-year transition to Division I, are coming off a 67-54 loss at Texas, where they trailed by just four points at halftime. This is their first-ever official game vs. a Pac-12 opponent. . . . The Riverside school opened its season with a 93-70 win over Jackson State, followed by a 112-56 rout of Division III Cal Lutheran. . . . Picked to finish sixth in the Western Athletic Conference, the Lancers are led by junior guard Milan Acquaah, the WAC’s Preseason Player of the Year. He is averaging 18.3 points, including 17 against Texas. A transfer from Washington State, he averaged 19.0 points a year ago when he was named WAC Newcomer of the Year and first-team all-conference. Acquaah scored 12 points in two games against Cal while at WSU as a freshman. . . . Ferron Flavors Jr., also a junior guard, averages 17.7 points. . . . Dejon Davis, a senior who attended Oakland Tech High School, is averaging 10.7 points and 9.7 rebounds.
CAL GAME NOTES: Click here
CAL BAPTIST GAME NOTES: Click here
