Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored a team-high 17 points in his return to the Bay Area, Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic had 16 and California, featuring 10 new players, handled Cal State Bakersfield 86-73 in a non-conference men’s basketball opener Monday night in Berkeley, Calif.
BJ Omot chipped in with 13 points, DJ Campbell scored 12 and Mady Sissoko had 10 in their debuts for Cal, helping the Golden Bears take the first step toward improving from last season’s 13-19 finish.
Jemel Jones had a game-high 22 points off the bench for Bakersfield, which also went 13-19 a year ago.
A prized recruit from the Sacramento area who chose Stanford over Cal a year ago, Stojakovic thrilled his new fans with a 3-pointer on his first shot for the Golden Bears just 15 seconds into the game.
The Roadrunners kept the game close for more than 16 minutes, using a dunk from Fidelis Okereke to close the gap to 32-26 late in the first half.
But Cal went into the break on a 14-2 run. Blacksher, an Oakland native who played five seasons at Grand Canyon, had two 3-pointers and a layup during the surge.
Bakersfield got no closer than seven in the second half.
Blacksher had three 3-pointers and a team-high four assists for Cal, which went 3-29 in 2022-23 before its 10-win improvement in Madsen’s first season at the helm last year.
Campbell chipped in with three steals for the Golden Bears, while Stojakovic and Sissoko joined Lee Dort with a team-high-tying six rebounds. Stojakovic also made all nine of his free-throw attempts.
Cal won despite shooting just 42.1 percent. Jones went 9-for-16 for the Roadrunners, who outshot the hosts by making 43.5 percent of their shots.
A junior-college transfer from Chicago, Jones also logged five rebounds, a team-high four assists and two steals for the visitors. Corey Stephenson and Marvin McGhee III backed him with 17 and 13 points, respectively, while Shakir Odunewu complemented his game-high 10 rebounds with nine points.