By STEVE KRONER, The Associated Press
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — John Camden scored 20 points and Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen each added 19 as California built a 20-point lead and held off No. 14 North Carolina 84-78 on Saturday.
Cal (14-5, 2-4) owned that 20-point lead early in the second half. A basket by Ames gave the Bears a 74-55 edge with 8:26 left before the Tar Heels rallied.
Carolina cut its deficit to 81-78 on a 3-pointer by Henri Veesar with 19 seconds remaining but Pippen hit two foul shots with 10 seconds to go to just about clinch the decision.
Pippen had a game-high five assists. His father Scottie, a Basketball Hall of Famer, was part of the announced crowd of 8,077 at Haas Pavilion.
“Can’t say enough about the environment,” Madsen said of the crowd, which supported the Bears amid the Tar Heels’ comeback bid. “Can’t give enough credit to North Carolina … credit them, and credit some guys of ours who stepped up.”
Cal had a decided advantage in 3-point shooting: The Bears went 14 for 26 from beyond the arc. The Heels were 9 for 27.
Freshman Caleb Wilson led Carolina with 17 points. Veesar had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bears’ Lee Dort grabbed a game-high 12 boards.
The Tar Heels (14-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) absorbed their second straight loss in the Bay Area; they fell 95-90 at Stanford on Wednesday.
Cal scored the game’s first seven points, put together an 11-0 run to take a 26-13 lead and did not trail at any point Saturday.
The Bears took their biggest lead of the first half when Ames hit a jumper with 14 seconds remaining to put Cal up 54-35. Derek Dixon’s layup just before the buzzer cut the Heels’ deficit to 54-37 at the break.
Camden led all scorers in the half with 16 points as Cal went 10 for 16 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
“We’re trying to build something special here at Cal, and it takes everybody,” Bears coach Mark Madsen told reporters after the win.
Up next
North Carolina hosts Notre Dame on Wednesday.
Cal plays at Stanford next Saturday.
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