Stojakovic scores 20, Blacksher Jr. adds 19 to help Cal beat USC 71-66
Andrej Stojakovic scored 20 points and Jovan Blacksher Jr. 19 and Joshua Ola-Joseph made several plays down the stretch Sunday night to help California beat Southern California 71-66 in a matchup between former conference rivals in the now-defunct Pac-12.
Cal (3-1), now in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the Trojans (Big Ten) played as nonconference opponents for the first time since 1921. The Golden Bears, who have won back-to-back games against USC following 10 consecutive losses against the Trojans, lead the all-time series 138-134.
Desmond Claude hit a jumper before Saint Thomas made back-to-back baskets in the paint to give USC (3-1) a 64-63 lead with 6:30 to play but the Trojans made 1 of 10 from the field thereon as Cal scored eight of the final 10 points.
BJ Omot made with a 3-pointer with 4:54 left and Ola-Joseph scored in the lane to give the Bears a four-point lead 1:51 remaining. Ola-Joseph grabbed an offensive rebound before Stojakovic made two free throws with 21 seconds left and then blocked a shot by Claude.
Blacksher made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to cap the scoring just before the buzzer.
Ola-Joseph finished with six points, seven rebounds and a steal — all in the final 12 minutes.
Claude, a 6-foot-6 Xavier transfer, scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half and Thomas finished with 15 for USC (3-1). Wesley Yates III scored all his 10 points before halftime.
Cal earned its first nonconference road win since it beat Seattle 81-59 on Dec. 19, 2017.
The first half featured nine ties and 10 lead changes before Blacksher hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left that cut Cal's deficit to 43-42. Blacksher, a graduate transfer from Grand Canyon, made 4 of 5 from 3-point range and matched his previous season high with 18 first-half points on 7-of-8 shooting.
DJ Campbell hit a jumper and Stojakovic scored six consecutive Cal points before Campbell a 3-pointer to cap an 11-2 run that gave the Bears a six-point lead with 15:37 to play.