Cal Rides Dai Dai Ames' Hot Hand to 90-85 Victory over Georgia Tech

Cal coach Mark Madsen rolled the dice and it came up 7s.

Junior guard Dai Dai Ames, who wears No. 7, returned to the floor carrying four personal fouls with the Bears nursing a 61-60 lead over Georgia Tech with 9:30 left.

Ames hit a 3-pointer then a mid-range jump shot extending the lead to 66-62 and the Bears went on to claim a 90-85 victory that further advances their dreams of earning an NCAA tournament bid.

Ames made one of two free throws with 43.9 seconds left and two more with 14.8 seconds to go, finishing with a career-high 29 points as the Bears (17-6, 5-5) won their fourth game in the past five.

The win also leveled Madsen’s three-year coaching record in Berkeley at 44-44 after he took over a team that won three games the year before his arrival.

Madsen talks in the video at the top of this story about why he felt confident putting Ames back into the game with four fouls. Ames, in the video below, admittted he didn't expect to return to the floor so soon after picking up his fourth foul with 10:50 to play.

Cal assembled another strong perimeter shooting performance, hitting 12 of 23 attempts from the 3-point arc. They have connected on 44.8 percent (56 for 125) over the past five games.

Chris Bell made a pair of 3’s in the final 6 minutes, the second one pushing the Bears to a seemingly comfortable 80-72 lead with 2:04 to play.

But Tech’s Akai Fleming made two 3-pointers and a layup in a span of 1:16 and the Yellow Jackets were within three points. Milos Ilic converted four straight free throws in the final 31 seconds to give Cal breathing room.

John Camden scored 15 points for the Bears, Justin Pippen had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Bell scored 14 points. Ilic, starting the past three games for injured big man Lee Dort, delivered one of his best performances with 11 points and nine rebounds, including 7 for 7 from the foul line, despite playing in foul trouble.

Fleming scored 19 points for Tech (11-12, 2-8) and Baye Ndongo had 10 points 12 rebounds and eight assists before fouling out.

Cal, which plays 20th-ranked Clemson in a significant home game Saturday, is inching closer to its first 20-win season since 2017, its first NCAA bid since 2016. Madsen talks in the video above about the Bears' pursuit of a postseason bid.

Ames drilled a 3-pointer just 43 seconds into the second half to give the Bears a 46-31 lead, their biggest of the game. But after limiting the Yellow Jackets to 29 first-half points, Cal was lit up by a 56-point second half from the visitors.

The Yellow Jackets, who made just two 3-pointers in the first half, converted 8 of 12 in the second half to help fuel their comeback. They also had their way inside, outscored Cal 48-16 in the paint and 16-4 on second-chance points after offensive rebounds.

Georgia Tech went in front on a drive to the basket by Akai Fleming and inched the lead to 53-49 on a dunk by Chas Kelly II. But Kelley was hit with a technical foul for taunting and Ames trimmed the margin to two points by converting both foul shots with 14:08 left.

Cal led 57-56 after a layup and free throw by Pippen with 11:01 left. But 11 seconds later Ames went to the bench with his fourth foul foul, taking the game’s hottest hand out of play.

For 80 seconds, anyway.

Cal scored the game’s first eight points and never trailed on the way to a 43-29 halftime lead.

Ames scored 10 of his 15 first-half points in the opening 7 minutes, lifting the Bears to a 17-9 lead.

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