Cal Pushes Past Georgia Tech 76-65 In Atlanta

ATLANTA -- The California men's basketball team changed gears in the second half to fight back and beat host Georgia Tech 76-65 tonight in Atlanta. John Camden had a double-double and Lee Dort scored a career-high 16 points, but it was Dai Dai Ames scoring all 18 of his team-high points in the second half that anchored the road win for the Golden Bears. Cal is now 21-9 overall and 9-8 in ACC play, while the Yellow Jackets go to 11-19, 2-15.

Cal's perimeter attack wasn't landing in the first half, so the Bears countered by getting into the paint. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, hit six first-half threes to help keep the Bears at bay, leading it 36-32 at halftime. Cal had gone 0-for-12 from 3-point range in those first 20 minutes and trailed by as much as 12 before reeling in the Yellow Jackets before the break. Cal shot 38.2 percent overall in the first half behind Tech's 43.3 percent, and the Bears led on the boards 21-18. Cal finally found a touch from 3-point range in the second half while Georgia Tech came up empty from beyond the arc as the Bears finally found some breathing room. Cal shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half to finish up at 43.8 overall, and Georgia Tech wrapped at 39.2. Cal outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 40-35 while dishing out 19 assists.

Justin Pippen had a career-high eight of those assists, and Chris Bell tallied 10 points for the Bears to go along with Ames' 18, Dort's 16 and Camden's 12. Camden also pulled in 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Tech was led by Kowacie Reeves Jr.'s 19 points, with Akai Fleming scoring 16 and Jaeden Mustaf adding 10 for the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech opened up with a 3-for-3 effort from 3-point range to help the hosts build a 13-4 lead three minutes into the action. Scores from DeJuan Campbell and Chris Bell carved the deficit down to 16-8 with 13:30 on the clock, but successful strikes from beyond the arc continued to evade the Bears. Still, Cal kept pushing. Although threes weren't falling, the Bears got to the hoop and the free-throw line enough to tug the margin to one with a 12-3 rally topped off with four straight points from TT Carr and an emphatic dunk from Lee Dort, who became the first Bear in double digits on the night in making it a 33-32 deficit with 45 seconds left. The Yellow Jackets had the final word, though, converting a three-point play to make it a 36-32 margin at halftime.

Dort punched up two opening buckets to level things, and later it was Dai Dai Ames landing the Bears' first 3-pointer of the game after slipping in a score in the paint. Ames' three gave Cal its first lead of the night, up 41-38 with 16:55 on the clock. The Yellow Jackets edged back ahead with a string of free throws, but Ames answered the call again with a go-ahead score at 15:25. Ames free throws later were followed by John Camden's first three, and Cal gripped a 50-44 lead at the 13-minute mark. The Bears bumped out to their largest lead after Campbell scored four straight and then Ames answered a single Tech free throw with a 3-pointer to build a 62-48 advantage at 8:45. Cal would come up empty from the floor for the next few minutes, giving Tech the chance to fight back. It was a six-point game until Bell nailed a baseline jumper with 3:00 to go, getting up 68-60. It was then the Yellow Jackets' turn to go cold, netting only free throws for four minutes while Cal maneuvered ahead 72-61 with 1:35 to go. A Dort dunk at 1:15 got him to a new career high and Cal to a 75-61 advantage before Ames issued the final word to top off a 76-65 road win for the Bears.

NEXT: Cal now heads to Winston-Salem, N.C., for the Bears' final regular-season game of the season, taking on Wake Forest in a 4 p.m. ET clash on Saturday. From there, Cal will head to Charlotte to set up for competition at the ACC Tournament, with the Bears' first game and seeding to be determined.

NOTABLE:

- Now with 21 wins this season, Cal recorded its most regular-season wins since 2015-16, when the Bears had 22 wins entering the 2016 postseason.

- With a career-high 16 points, Lee Dort scored in double digits for the ninth time this season.

- With a team-high 18 points, Dai Dai Ames scored in double digits for the 26th time this season.

- With 10 points, Chris Bell hit double digits for the 23rd time this season.

- With 12 points, John Camden scored in double digits for the 22nd time this season.

- And with 10 rebounds, Camden recorded his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career.