Virginia Tech Staves Off Thrilling Revival Effort

BERKELEY – The California men’s basketball squad overcame a 22-point deficit in the second half but could not complete the comeback, losing 71-68 to Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.

 

Andrej Stojakovic spearheaded the recovery, contributing 22 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. His 3-point shot to equalize with two seconds remaining hit the rim and concluded the match. Jeremiah Wilkinson added 14 points, with 11 coming in the second half. The pair combined for 30 of the Bears’ final 31 points during the game.

 

Cal (8-8, 1-4 ACC), which recently secured its first-ever ACC victory against Virginia on Wednesday, suffered its sixth defeat in the last eight matches dating back to early December.

 

Jaydon Young netted 14 points, and Tyler Johnson achieved a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) for Virginia Tech (7-9, 2-3).

 

Cal struggled early on, missing its initial 13 shots and trailing 15-4 before Jeremiah Wilkinson nailed a 3-pointer with 12:30 to play in the first half. The offensive woes persisted for Cal, who shot 5 of 31 from the field and 3 of 14 from beyond the arc, concluding the first half with a 42-23 deficit.

 

Down by 21 less than seven minutes into the second half, Cal embarked on a 26-7 run—sparked by an early 3-pointer from Joshua Ola-Joseph and a collective 20 points from Stojakovic and Wilkinson—to level the game at 58-58 with 6:03 remaining. The Hokies quickly countered with a 9-0 run to regain the lead for good.

 

Stojakovic scored the last 10 points for Cal, capping it with a powerful breakaway dunk following a steal by Rytis Petraitis.

 

UP NEXT

The Bears will head to Tobacco Road next week to challenge North Carolina (Wednesday, 4 p.m. PT) and NC State (Saturday, 3 p.m. PT). Both away games will be broadcast on ACC Network.

 

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Tickets for the 2024-25 season can be acquired by visiting CalBears.com/Tickets, dialing 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277), or emailing goldstandard@berkeley.edu. Fans can show their support for the Golden Bears via the Cal Men’s Basketball Excellence Initiative or the California Legends Collective.

 

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