Cal Pulls Away at the Finish, Completes Season Sweep of NC State

Jovan Blacksher Jr, scores 18 points to lead the Bears, who improved to 12-11 on the season

Cal's Jeremiah Wilkinson drives to the basket. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Cal snapped a two-game losing streak and completed a season sweep of North Carolina State with a 74-62 victory on Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion.

The Bears were smarting after their 75-66 loss to Syracuse four days earlier.

“The Syracuse game was brutal,” Joshua Ola-Joseph said. “I feel like this is one of our most complete games.”

The Bears (12-11, 5-7 ACC) led just 58-54 with 8 minutes left before outscoring the Wolfpack 16-8 the rest of the way. The stretch included a 10-0 run that featured 3-pointers by Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Joshua Ola-Joseph.

With eight games remaining in the regular season, the Bears are within a single victory of matching their total from last year in coach Mark Madsen’s debut season.

NC State (9-13, 2-9), winless in six games on the road this season, lost for the seventh straight time.

Blacksher Jr. led the Bears with 18 points and three steals, with 15 points of them in the first half. Freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson added 14 points and Ola-Joseph scored 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting.

The game marked the return of top scorer Andrej Stojakovic, who had missed the previous four games with a hip injury. He came off the bench to play 24 minutes and scored six points on 2-for-12 shooting.

Center Mady Sissoko had 13 rebounds and the Bears dominated the battle under the boards in the second half, outrebounding NC State 27-15 over the final 20 minutes.

Four days after Madsen was critical when the Bears had just four assists vs. Syracuse, Cal dished 16 assists on 27 made baskets.

“It went from a famine to a feast,” Madsen said. 

“There was a lot of emotion behind that because after the Syracuse game our guys were upset, the staff was upset because the ball wasn’t moving,” Madsen said. 

“The players had a players-only meeting that night — not a very long one, 10 or 15 minutes from what I hear.”

When team reassembled Monday, they met again, coaches and players this time, “sharing truth, complaining at each other,” Madsen said. “Every year you have a long meeting where a lot of honesty comes out. And we had that and I saw a step forward tonight on the court. People opened up and it was emotional. When I left I thought to myself, I believe this can really help. I hope so. And it did.”

The Bears trailed just once for 30 seconds in the first half on the way to a 34-30 lead at the break. But Cal never could separate from the Wolfpack, leading by no more than eight points in the half.

Blacksher led the way with 15 points, including 3 for 5 from the 3-point arc and 4 for 4 from the free throw line. 

Wilkinson scored the Bears’ first eight points of the game and Stojakovic, came off the bench and scored a single first-half basket.