Cal Bears guard Andrej Stojakovic guard (2) goes for the throw down against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Haas Pavilion on Sat Jan 11, 2025 (Cal Bears photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Despite a valiant Comeback, California came up short in its men’s basketball game against Virginia Tech, as the Hokies earned a 71-68 Atlantic Coast Conference victory at Haas Pavilion.

It was Cal’s sixth loss in its last eight games.

The Golden Bears (8-8 overall, 1-4 ACC) were down 22 points in the second half. Cal’s Andrej Stojakovic scored 22 of his game-high 24 points to spark the Golden Bears late rally. Stojakovic’s 3-point attempt rimmed out as time expired.

Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 14 points for Cal, including 11 in the second half. Stojakovic and Wilkinson combined to score 30 of the Golden Bears’ last 31 points of the game.

Jayden Young was the top scorer for Virginia Tech with 14 points, while Tyler Johnson turned in a double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds) for the Hokies (7-9 overall, 2-3 ACC).

The Golden Bears missed their first 13 shots of the game, trailing 15-4 early, eventually trailing 42-33 at halftime. Cal was trailing by 21 seven minutes into the second half when it used a 26-7 run, and tied the game at 58-58 with 6:03 remaining. Virginia Tech reeled off a 9-0 run to maintain the lead for good.

Next weekend, the Golden Bears travel to Tobacco Road for ACC games against North Carolina on Wednesday (4 p.m.) and North Carolina State on Saturday (3 p.m.).