Northwestern State Demons Justin Redmond (13) and Chris Mubiru (11) defend against the Cal Bears forward Lee Dort (34) at Haas Pavilion on Sat Dec 13, 2025 (Cal Bears X photo)
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025
Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California
Northwestern State Demons 70 (2-8)
California Golden Bears 79 (10-1)
By Stephen Ruderman
BERKELEY–It was a close one—and perhaps closer than some people thought it should have been—but John Camden and Dai Dai Ames carried the Bears to a 79-70 win over the Northwestern State Demons to keep their hot start alive, and get their 10th win.
After a 93-71 rout of Dominican on Tuesday, the Bears were 9-1, and off to their best start in 11 years. Today, they looked to get their 10th win against the Northwestern State Demons of the lesser-known Southland Conference. The Demons came into today’s game with a record of 2-7, but once this game got underway, that would prove to mean absolutely nothing.
The Bears got off to a strong start. John Camden hit a three, a little over a minute in, to open the scoring. Izzy Miles was fouled, and hit one of two from the line to put the Demons on the board. Chris Bell then scored two more for Cal with a layup; and Camden was fouled, and hit both shots from the line.
Cal had an early 7-1 lead, and the early vibes of this game seemed to indicate that it would be all Bears today. The Demons cut it to 7-5, but the Bears got back to a six-point lead when Semetri Carr hit a three to make it 14-8.
However, the Bears’ offense suddenly went quiet in the middle of the first half. The Demons showed that they were going to be a tough match for the Bears today, and they went on an 18-6 run to take a 26-20 lead with 6:29 to go.
Cal sprung back to life in the final minutes of the first half. Carr hit a three, and Miles Iloc delivered a layup to make it 26-25.
The middle of the first half may have been quiet, but the end was going to be quite dramatic, and even a bit chaotic. With the Demons up 32-31 and 1:15 to go, Nolan Dorsey stole the ball, and passed it to Camden, who hit a three to put the Bears up 34-32.
Miles was fouled, and hit two from the line to tie it. Demons Head Coach Rick Cabrera was hit with a technical foul with 27 seconds remaining, and Camden hit one of two from the line to put the Bears back ahead.
Justin Redmond hit a three with six seconds left. to give the Demons the lead again. Dai Dai Ames then beat out the clock with a driving layup to tie the game going into the half. The play was confirmed after review, and it was the shot in the arm the Bears needed going into the second half.
Ames only scored seven points in the first half, but his thrilling layup was just the beginning of what would turn out to be a big night for him.
It was 37-37 going into the second half, and the second half was jam packed with action. The lead changed hands several more times, and the Demons had a five-point lead at 58-53 with 12:19 to go.
However, the Bears never relented, and Camden and Ames led the charge in the second half. Camden and Ames both hit threes, and the Bears were right back ahead at 59-58.
The Demons were ahead again. They led it 65-62 with 7:25 left on the clock after a three by Jumawan. Lee Dort then came through with a dunk to make it 65-64, and Ames made a layup to put the Bears back ahead at 66-65.
Ames’ layup would prove to be the final lead change of the game. There would not be any more scoring for nearly two minutes, but Camden slammed one down after a steal by Dort to make it 68-65.
Carr and Dort were both fouled, and both hit each of their two shots from the line. The Bears had finally taken control of the game, as they had a seven point lead at 72-65. It was the first time either team held a seven-point lead in this one.
The Bears ended up winning by a final of 79-70.
John Camden led the way with 16 points in the second half, and 25 overall. He was also 6-for-9 from beyond the arc for the game. Dai Dai Ames scored 13 points in the second half to cap off a 20-point performance. Believe it or not, Ames was only 5-for-11 in field goals for the second half, but he was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in that same period.
The Bears are now off to a 10-1 start, their best start in 11 years.
The Bears have two games left in non-conference play. They will take on the Morgan State Bears of the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference next Friday night at Haas Pavilion. That will be followed up two days later by a Sunday matinee against the Columbia Lions of the Ivy League.
Tipoff against the Morgan State Bears next Friday will be at 7 p.m.
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