There were any number of things Cal could have done differently to avoid the way it lost Saturday in Atlanta. Instead, the Bears will have to live the result of a last-second defeat at the hands, or finger tips, of Georgia Tech.
The Bears controlled overtime before a series of turnovers allowed the Yellowjackets to tie it up, 88-88, with 43 seconds to play in the extra period. A turnover on a mishandled ball by big man Mady Sissoko gave Georgia Tech possession with 21 seconds to go.
Mark Madsen's team seemed to make the right play as Sissoko and Rytis Petraitis disrupted a shot from Naithan George to force a miss only to have big man Baye Ndongo to fly in for an offensive rebound and putback as the buzzer sounded giving the Yellowjackets a 90-88 victory.
The basket from Ndongo, which gave him a career-high 26 points to go along with 13 rebounds, capped a 9-2 run over the final 2:28 to seal the victory for the Yellowjackets.
Cal (12-14, 5-10 ACC) leaned on Sissoko and leading scorer Andrej Stojakovic in overtime as they were the only two players to score in the extra period. Stojakovic bookended a 7-2 run early in overtime with baskets to help the Bears take an 86-81 lead with 2:46 to go before Georgia Tech (13-13, 7-8) went on its run.
Stojakovic scored 22 points and had 4 steals plus 2 assists and 2 rebounds in the game in his first contest reaching the 20-point threshold since a Jan. 11 matchup Virginia Tech. He missed four games in the middle of that stretch.
Though Sissoko and Stojakovic were able to carry the load in overtime, the Bears certainly missed the presence of their most explosive scorer and hometown guard Jeremiah Wilkinson. The reigning ACC Rookie of the Week returned home to the Atlanta area and put on a show for most of the day.
However, a cramp kept him on the bench for the final 1:58 of the game. He still led the Bears with 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting to go with 2 assists and a steal. Wilkinson scored Cal's first 12 points coming out of halftime and helped the Bears erase an 8-point deficit.
That early run for the Cal freshman set the game on a back-and-forth course with each team going blow for blow until the final play of regulation. Madsen turned to his freshman on the last play but Wilkinson wasn't able to get a layup to fall forcing the overtime period.
The lead changed hands 13 times and was tied up on 14 occasions Saturday.
Ultimately, Cal's ability to hit shots from deep kept them in the game, and the Bears finished the day with 13 made 3-pointers on 26 attempts.
As much as the 3-pointer helped Cal in Saturday's game, the in ability to control the ball played a factor in the loss. The Bears turned it over 15 times in the loss resulting in 23 points the other way for the Yellowjackets.
Four of those turnovers took place in the 5-minute overtime period.
In addition to Wilkinson and Stojakovic, Sissoko also scored in double figures as he finished the day with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Petraitis pitched in with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Guard DJ Campbell came off the bench Saturday and provided a spark with 10 points on a 4-for-5 shooting effort and tied Jovan Blacksher Jr. with a team-high 4 assists.
The loss marks the first against Georgia Tech in four meetings between the two teams and pushes Cal's losing streak to three games. The Bears have now five of their last six contests.
Cal will have a week between games as it remains on the road next Saturday as the Bears trek across the bay to face rival Stanford.
