Bears Escape LA With Exhibition Win Over LMU

LOS ANGELES — Cal was 1-for-21 from 3-point range and trailing Loyola Marymount late on Friday night in Westchester.

Enter Nojus Indrušaitis.

With 6.4 seconds left in regulation, the transfer from Pittsburgh hit a go-ahead triple to give the Golden Bears a 60-59 lead over the Lions.

“NoJo is a consummate professional,” Bears coach Mark Madsen told Bear Insider after the unofficial season-opening win. “He works on his game every day. 

"He works on his craft. He nailed the 3. We're going home with the win.”

Cal stood tall on LMU’s final possession and forced a game-ending miss at the rim.

Indrušaitis’ heroics made the Golden Bears trip back to Berkeley enjoyable. They also put a bow on what was a very sloppy game.

Struggling to score the entire game, Cal couldn’t consistently space the floor and shot 19-for-59 as a team (32.2%).

Center Lee Dort, who posted 11 points and shot 3-for-3 in the paint and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, was the only Golden Bear to make over 50% of their attempts.

But, as Cal fans know, a win is a win. And it’s much easier to correct mistakes after a fun victory that doesn’t formally count rather than a crushing defeat in a contest that does.

“It's a great win,” Madsen said. “We had so many players step up. Jake Wilkins had a huge and-1. You had Nojus knocking down the 3. The assistant coaches did a phenomenal job …”

Wilkins, the son of NBA legend Dominique Wilkins, flashed the most of any Golden Bear on Friday.

The Georgia transfer posted 11 points and five rebounds while clearly possessing the most athleticism on Cal’s roster.

Indrušaitis evidently also flashed, as one of the Golden Bears’ few reliable shooters. He and Michael Cooper, who finished with 12 points, are two of Cal’s better options as drivers and shooters.

Regardless, it’s early. Although the Golden Bears have plenty to address, they found a way to scrape by on the road, which never hurts.

“We started out very flat,” Madsen said. “But then we ramped up the energy in the second half. That was great.”

Madsen and Cal head to Oregon State on Oct. 24 for their second-and-final tune-up before opening the regular season at Haas Pavilion on Nov. 2 against Adams State.