February 25, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears coach Mark Madsen reacts during halftime against the SMU Mustangs at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Image Dai Dai Ames scored 18 points Wednesday night, helping California to a key 76-65 win over Georgia Tech in Atlantic Coast Conference play in Atlanta.
Lee Dort added 16 points and John Camden had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double for California (21-8, 9-8 ACC). This required them to avoid a devastating loss to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Chris Bell scored 10 points and Justin Pippen had eight assists for the Golden Bears, who trailed by 12 points.
Kowash Reeves Jr.’s 19 points led Georgia Tech (11-19, 2-15), followed by Akai Fleming’s 16 points and Jayden Mustaf’s 10 points. Lamar Washington had eight points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Yellow Jackets, who have dropped their 11th straight game. Georgia Tech had 17 turnovers in its final home game of the season.
California took its first lead with 16:57 left, with Ames’ layup and subsequent 3-pointer giving the visitors a 41-38 lead. Camden’s 3-pointer gave the Golden Bears a 50-44 lead with 13:02 to play.
Cal took a double-digit lead for the first time on two free throws by DeJuan Campbell, then pushed the margin to 14 points on Ames’ 3-pointer with 8:46 left.
A late Georgia Tech surge cut the deficit to six, but Ames’ layup gave the Golden Bears a 72-61 lead with 1:31 to play.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 16-6 lead with Reeves hitting his first three 3-point attempts. Cal pulled within six on Bell’s layup with 8:31 left in the first half.
Fleming’s 3-point play gave the Yellow Jackets a 30-20 lead, then Bell’s dunk capped a 6-0 spurt to cut the deficit to four.
Reeves’ fifth trey of the half put the Yellow Jackets up by seven, but Dort’s dunk cut the margin to one point.
Mustaf’s three-point play ended the first half and gave Georgia Tech a 36-32 halftime lead. Reeves led all scorers with 19 first-half points. Cal missed all 12 of his 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. It was Georgia Tech’s first halftime lead since a 65-53 home win over Boston College on Jan. 3.
–Field level media
