Bears Stifled at #14 Louisville

Bears Stifled At No. 14 Louisville

Jovan Blacksher Jr. Scores Season-High 22 Points

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Terrance Edwards Jr. scored a career-high 35 points to lead No. 14 Louisville to an 85-68 victory over California on Wednesday night.

Edwards, the Sun Belt Player of the Year last season for James Madison, provided early offense as he made six of his first eight shots to give the Cardinals (24-6, 17-2 ACC) a 22-19 lead with 7:22 remaining before halftime.

Meanwhile, Edwards' teammates missed a combined 10 of 11 shots during that span. Edwards shot 11 of 19 overall from the field and set a career high with seven 3-pointers in 11 attempts.

Chucky Hepburn added 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Louisville. J’Vonne Hadley finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored a season-high 22 points for Cal (13-17, 6-13). The Golden Bears’ leading scorers Andrej Stojakovic (four points) and Jeremiah Wilkinson (11) shot a combined 4 of 26 from the floor, and Cal shot 29.6% as a whole.

Mady Sissoko's jumper gave Cal a 19-16 lead with 8:06 left before halftime. That would be the Golden Bears’ last basket of the half as they missed their next 14 shots. Louisville went 8 for 12 in that stretch and took a 41-26 lead at the break.

Louisville led by as much as 53-29 after Hepburn's three-point play with 17:20 left. The Bears drew as close as 13 at 64-51 after DJ Campbell's 3-pointer with 11:36 remaining, but the Cardinals pulled away again.

UP NEXT

Cal plays its regular-season finale at Notre Dame on Saturday. Tipoff at Purcell Pavilion is at 1 p.m. PT on ACC Network.

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Tickets for the 2024-25 campaign can be purchased by visiting CalBears.com/Tickets, calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277) or emailing goldstandard@berkeley.edu. Fans can support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men's Basketball Excellence Initiative or the California Legends Collective.