Cal Falls In First ACC Road Game To No. 23 Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. -- In its first ACC road game of the season, the California men's basketball team was unable to keep pace with No. 23 host Virginia, falling 80-64 tonight at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. The Golden Bears earned a slim lead midway through the first half before the Cavaliers upped their game and pressed on to the win. Cal is now 13-3 overall and 1-2 in ACC play. Virginia improves to 13-2, 2-1.

The teams were largely in stride for the opening portion of the game before fouls started playing a part and timely 3-pointers fell for the hosts, who worked their way to a 43-33 lead at halftime. Virginia was shooting 46.7 percent overall with six threes landed and a 9-of-13 effort from the free-throw line. That outshined Cal's 44.4 percent overall shooting, with three 3-pointers nailed and a 6-of-7 free-throw mark. The Cavaliers were also ahead on the boards 22-15 at the break. The Cavaliers turned up the juice in the second half while the Bears lost ground. UVA heated up to finish at 50 percent on the offensive end while collecting 45 rebounds. Cal wrapped up at 35.2 percent on the night with a season-low 26 rebounds. The Bears also netted a season-low three 3-pointers to Virginia's nine in the game.

Cal was led in scoring by Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen with 18 and 17 points, respectively, while John Camden added 15 for the Bears. TT Carr led Cal with eight rebounds. Virginia had five players score in double figures. Malik Thomas had a game-high 20 points, and four players finished with 12 each.

It was a tight opening stretch, helped by some key strikes from Dai Dai Ames. A tough bucket from Ames was followed by two tosses from the stripe to snarl the score up 15-15 with 12:30 on the clock. Justin Pippen stepped up soon after, scoring off a feed from Mantas Kocanas and adding another bucket before firing off an answering 3-pointer to take Cal to a 22-20 lead at 10:00. When UVA found back-to-back threes, TT Carr helped Cal punch back to make the margin 28-26 with 7:30 on the clock. The foul count continued to tip against Cal as the Cavaliers made multiple trips to the line in building out a 36-29 lead with four minutes left in the half. A John Camden jumper dropped at 1:35 for the Bears, only to have Virginia finish off the half with five straight points to make it a 43-33 lead for the hosts at halftime. 

The Bears hit a cold snap on the offensive end to start the second half, with Virginia mounting a 57-35 lead while Cal managed just a single bucket in those first seven minutes. Pippen broke up over five minutes of scoring silence for the Bears in getting to the line for two tosses at 12:15, but the hole got deeper for the Bears later and they were unable to recover to take a road loss in Charlottesville.

NEXT: In the midst of its first ACC road trip of the season, Cal now turns to visit Virginia Tech at 4 p.m. ET on January 10 in Blacksburg, Va.

NOTABLE:

- Dai Dai Ames (18  points) scored in double figures for the 14th time this season.

- Justin Pippen (17 points) hit double digits for the 12th time.

- Pippen also had a career-high five steals.

- John Camden has made at least one 3-pointer in every game this season.

- With 15 points, Camden scored in double figures for the 12th time this season.

- Mantas Kocanas recorded his first career assist as a Bear tonight.

- Cal made a season-low three 3-pointers and matched its season low of 26 points.

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