Behind Okerke, Cornell tops Cal for first win against the ACC since 1951
AP
Dec 11, 2024
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) AK Okereke scored 24 points and Cooper Norad scored 21 points and Cornell Big Red withstood a furious second-half rally by Cal and beat the Golden Bears 88-80 on Tuesday.
Nazir Williams added 18 points and Jake Fiegen 11 for the Big Red (7-3), which beat an Atlantic Coast Conference team for the first time since December 1951, four years before the debut of Disneyland.
Joshua Ola-Joseph scored 21 points to lead the Golden Bears. Mady Sissoko had 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting. Andrej Stojakovic scored 13, reserve Jeremiah Wilkinson 12 and Jovan Blacksher Jr. 11.
Cal (6-4) turned a 52-29 deficit with 18:14 remaining in the game into a 72-71 lead with a 3-pointer by Stojakovic with 5:15 left. Undeterred, Cornell's Guy Ragland Jr. buried a 3-pointer 15 seconds later and Cornell never trailed again.
Noard's jump shot with 6:31 left before halftime gave Cornell a 32-18 lead. The Big Red finished the first half shooting 20 for 36 (55.6%) en route to a 47-29 halftime advantage.
Cal, which entered averaging 13 turnovers per game, equaled the mark before halftime. Cornell scored an equal number of points off Cal's turnovers.
Cornell started the second half with a 5-0 start when Fiegen made three free throws and Okereke made a basket to give the Big Red their biggest lead.
It was only the third meeting between the two teams and the first in almost 32 years. Cal lost that most recent meeting 74-54 on Dec. 30, 1992, in the Seton Hall Meadowlands Classic in South Orange, New Jersey.
Prior to Tuesday's 73-year losing streak, Cornell had lost 42 straight games against the ACC.
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1st Half
COR
Big Red
47
CAL
Golden Bears
29
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(Golden Bears gains possession)
19:41
+3
Joshua Ola-Joseph makes three point jump shot (Rytis Petraitis assists)
0-3
19:21
+2
Nazir Williams makes two point layup (Guy Ragland Jr. assists)
2-3
18:58
+2
Rytis Petraitis makes two point layup (Jovan Blacksher Jr. assists)
2-5
18:48
+3
Nazir Williams makes three point jump shot (Guy Ragland Jr. assists)
5-5
18:22
Rytis Petraitis turnover (lost ball) (Guy Ragland Jr. steals)
18:01
+2
AK Okereke makes two point layup
7-5
17:30
Joshua Ola-Joseph misses three point jump shot
17:28
Mady Sissoko offensive rebound
17:14
+2
Mady Sissoko makes two point layup (Jovan Blacksher Jr. assists)
7-7
17:14
Guy Ragland Jr. shooting foul (Mady Sissoko draws the foul)
17:14
+1
Mady Sissoko makes regular free throw 1 of 1
7-8
16:52
AK Okereke misses three point jump shot
16:50
Rytis Petraitis defensive rebound
16:40
Rytis Petraitis misses three point jump shot
16:38
Guy Ragland Jr. defensive rebound
16:25
Guy Ragland Jr. misses three point jump shot
16:23
Joshua Ola-Joseph defensive rebound
16:03
Mady Sissoko turnover (lost ball)
15:51
Andrej Stojakovic personal foul (Big Red draws the foul)
15:51
TV timeout
15:32
Guy Ragland Jr. turnover (bad pass)
15:11
Jeremiah Wilkinson misses three point jump shot
15:09
DJ Nix defensive rebound
15:00
Cooper Noard misses three point jump shot
14:58
Lee Dort defensive rebound
14:46
Jovan Blacksher Jr. turnover (bad pass) (AK Okereke steals)
14:39
Ryan Kiachian misses three point jump shot
14:37
Jeremiah Wilkinson defensive rebound
14:22
Andrej Stojakovic offensive foul (Big Red draws the foul)
14:22
Andrej Stojakovic turnover (offensive foul)
14:07
+2
AK Okereke makes two point layup
9-8
13:32
Jeremiah Wilkinson misses three point jump shot
13:30
Ryan Kiachian defensive rebound
13:27
Ryan Kiachian turnover (lost ball) (Rytis Petraitis steals)
13:27
Rytis Petraitis misses two point layup
13:25
Big Red defensive rebound
13:10
AK Okereke misses two point layup
13:08
Lee Dort defensive rebound
12:58
Ryan Kiachian blocks Joshua Ola-Joseph's two point layup
12:56
AK Okereke defensive rebound
12:52
DJ Nix misses three point jump shot
12:50
Lee Dort defensive rebound
12:40
Jeremiah Wilkinson misses two point layup
12:38
Ryan Kiachian defensive rebound
12:36
+2
Cooper Noard makes two point layup (Ryan Kiachian assists)
11-8
12:35
Golden Bears 30 second timeout
12:18
+3
Joshua Ola-Joseph makes three point jump shot (Christian Tucker assists)
11-11
12:05
+3
AK Okereke makes three point jump shot (Nazir Williams assists)
14-11
11:49
+2
Joshua Ola-Joseph makes two point dunk (Rytis Petraitis assists)
14-13
11:37
+2
Nazir Williams makes two point jump shot
16-13
11:15
Lee Dort turnover (lost ball) (Ryan Kiachian steals)
11:12
Nazir Williams misses two point layup
11:12
Ryan Kiachian offensive rebound
11:12
+2
Ryan Kiachian makes two point layup
18-13
11:12
Rytis Petraitis shooting foul (Ryan Kiachian draws the foul)
11:12
TV timeout
11:12
Ryan Kiachian misses regular free throw 1 of 1
11:12
Joshua Ola-Joseph defensive rebound
10:47
Jovan Blacksher Jr. misses three point jump shot
10:47
Jovan Blacksher Jr. offensive rebound
10:47
Jovan Blacksher Jr. turnover (out of bounds)
10:28
+2
Ryan Kiachian makes two point dunk
20-13
10:06
Jovan Blacksher Jr. misses three point jump shot
10:04
Nazir Williams defensive rebound
9:59
Jake Fiegen misses three point jump shot
9:57
Spencer Mahoney defensive rebound
9:33
+3
Joshua Ola-Joseph makes three point jump shot
20-16
9:24
+3
Nazir Williams makes three point jump shot
23-16
9:12
Joshua Ola-Joseph misses three point jump shot
9:10
Adam Hinton defensive rebound
8:56
+2
Guy Ragland Jr. makes two point layup
25-16
8:36
Jovan Blacksher Jr. turnover (bad pass) (AK Okereke steals)
8:32
Spencer Mahoney personal foul (Big Red draws the foul)
8:27
+2
Nazir Williams makes two point jump shot (Guy Ragland Jr. assists)
27-16
8:12
Christian Tucker turnover (bad pass) (AK Okereke steals)
8:08
AK Okereke turnover (bad pass) (Christian Tucker steals)
8:07
AK Okereke shooting foul (Spencer Mahoney draws the foul)
8:07
+1
Spencer Mahoney makes regular free throw 1 of 2
27-17
8:07
+1
Spencer Mahoney makes regular free throw 2 of 2
27-18
7:44
+2
Jake Fiegen makes two point layup
29-18
7:24
Andrej Stojakovic misses two point jump shot
7:22
DJ Nix defensive rebound
7:17
Guy Ragland Jr. misses three point jump shot
7:15
Andrej Stojakovic defensive rebound
7:12
Andrej Stojakovic turnover (lost ball) (Jake Fiegen steals)
7:12
TV timeout
7:07
Cooper Noard misses three point jump shot
7:05
Mady Sissoko defensive rebound
6:42
Jump ball. Andrej Stojakovic vs. Guy Ragland Jr. (Big Red gains possession)
6:42
Andrej Stojakovic turnover (lost ball) (Guy Ragland Jr. steals)
6:31
+3
Cooper Noard makes three point jump shot (Jacob Beccles assists)