Cal Bears forward Lee Dort (left) throws down against UNC Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) in the first half at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Jan 17, 2026 (AP News photo)
#14 North Carolina Tar Heels 78 (14-4 Overall; 2-4 ACC)
California Golden Bears 84 (14-5 Overall; 2-4 ACC)
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026
Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California
By Stephen Ruderman
BERKELEY–The Bears nearly blew a 19-point lead, but at the end they came out on top in a wild and emotional thriller with a nevertheless miraculous 84-78 win over the 14th-ranked UNC Tar Heels.
Another large crowd packed into Haas Pavilion on this Saturday afternoon to see the Bears take on another ranked team. Today, it was the 14th-ranked UNC Tar Heels. Cal came into today’s game 1-4 in ACC play.
The Bears got the crowd into the game right away. Lee Dort opened the scoring with a layup and an alleyoop dunk, and John Camden hit a three to give Cal a 7-0 start.
Derek Dixon hit a three to put UNC on the board, and remind everyone that they were here to play. Dixon’s three also reminded everybody that UNC had a large contingency of fans ready to make a lot of noise as well. Dai Dai Ames hit a three to make it 10-3, but UNC scored seven unanswered points to tie the game at 10-10.
The Bears responded with an impressive 19-5 run to open up a 29-15 lead. However, the Tar Heels came charging right back with an 11-2 run to close Cal’s lead to 31-26 with 6:51 left in the first half.
Caleb Wilson went for a jumper to try and cut Cal’s lead to just three, but he missed, which spurred a monumental momentum shift for the Bears. Chris Bell hit a three to make it 34-26, and from there, the Bears went on a roll.
Camden made a layup, and was fouled. He was sent to the line, where he made his shot, and Cal now led 37-26. Seth Trimble was fouled, and hit his second of two shots from the line to make it 37-27.
Justin Pippen then hit a three to make it 40-27. Trimble hit a jumper to make it 40-29, but every time UNC was able to score two, Cal followed it up with a three. That sequence was capped off with a three by Pippen to open Cal’s lead to 52-35.
Zayden High missed a three for UNC, which killed the drill. Dai Dai Ames then hit a jumper for two, and Dixon got a layup in. Cal led 54-37 at the half.
The Bears dominated the final six minutes and 17 seconds of the first half, and closed out the half with a 23-11 run. The question was then whether Cal could carry the momentum through the layover, and into the second half. While the Bears had a rather-comfortable lead, they were still up against the 14th-ranked team in the country, and as a result their lead was far from safe.
Pippen fired the opening salvo with a dunk to make it 56-37, and Cal got their lead to 20 at 63-43. However, UNC got a little bit of momentum, back, and scored seven unanswered points to close it to 63-50. Camden threw a bad pass, which resulted in a turnover, but Wilson was thrown out of bounds. Montas Koncanas then hit a three to get the Bears back on track.
The Bears had regained the momentum, and an Aimes jumper put the Bears back ahead by 19 at 74-55 with 8:26 to go.
Then suddenly, everything changed. Wilson and Trimble were both fouled, and both hit each of their two shots from the line. Dixon then hit a three to cut Cal’s lead to 12, which was their slimmest since the first half.
It got even worse. Jayden Young hit a three to cut it to 74-65, and the sea of light blue that made its way all the way from North Carolina was on fire. After Wilson was fouled and sent to the line, UNC fans were chanting so loud, it felt like a literal UNC home game.
Caleb hit one of two from the line, and Pippen gave Cal a brief reprieve with a three to get their lead back to 11. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t last long. Henri Veesaar threw down an alleyoop dunk; Dixon hit a three and Jaydon Young was fouled and hit both shots from the line.
It was now just a four-point game at 77-73, and while the Bears still had the lead, the Tar Heels were in complete control. UNC showed throughout this entire comeback why they were the 14th highest-ranked team in the country, and that they were the clearly-superior team in this game. Even with three minutes still remaining, the Bears were doing everything they could to run down the clock.
Pippen hit a jumper to make it 79-73 with 2:52 to go. Neither team scored in their next position, and then the Bears were hit with a shot clock violation.
Trimble was fouled by Dort with 1:47 to go, which sent the former to the line. Trimble hit both, and it was back to a four-point game at 79-75.
Both teams missed shots on their next possessions. After Trimble missed a jumper, there was a scramble for the ball, but Dort was able to hold onto it to give Cal the possession. Dort was fouled by Young, so the Bears threw the ball back in. Pippen got the ball, but he too was fouled by Young. Since that was UNC’s seventh team foul, Pippen went to the line with 57 seconds left.
Pippen hit both shots from the line, but the Bears were still not out of the woods. Trimble missed a three for UNC. Dort was then fouled, and unable to hit his first shot from the line. Veesaar also missed a three.
Veesaar took another shot from beyond the arc with 19 seconds left, and it was back to a three-point game at 81-78. All the Tar Heels had to do was foul; hope whoever was fouled misses his first shot; and then hit a three to tie it.
Veesaar fouled Pippen with 10 seconds left, but Pippen hit both shots, to make it 83-78, and the Bears were now in good shape. Wilson missed a three, and that pretty much did it. Dort was fouled, and hit a three throw for the hell of it.
Dort missed his second free throw, but who cared? Because someway, somehow, the Bears miraculously held on for a big 84-78 upset over the 14th highest-ranked team in the country.
It was really three guys who pulled this one off for the Bears. John Camden led the scoring with 20 points, and Dai Dai Ames was right behind him with 19.
While Justin Pippen was tied with Ames for the second-most points with 19, Pippen was easily the player of the game on the offensive side, and quite possibly, the player of the game entirely. Pippen was 5-for-8 in field goals; 3-for-4 from beyond the arc; and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line. He also had four rebounds and five assists.
On the defensive side, it was Lee Dort, who had 12 rebounds, 10 of them on defense. Dort also scored seven points, and threw in a pair of assists for good measure.
This is the Bears’ second win this season against a Top 25 team. The Bears are now 2-4 in ACC play, and 14-5 overall.
The Bears will have the next week off, and then they will head across the bay to Palo Alto to take on their hated rivals in all facets of life, the Stanford Cardinal, next Saturday. Afterwards, they will head to Florida for a pair of games: Wednesday, Jan. 28 in Tallahassee, against Seminoles; and Saturday, Jan. 31, just west of Miami, in Coral Gables, against the Miami Hurricanes.
Tipoff at Maples Pavilion next Saturday will be at 5 p.m.
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