Dai Dai Ames gave Cal the lead for good on a layup with 6:26 remaining, John Camden went for a season-high 25 points and the Golden Bears overcame a challenge from Northwestern State of Louisiana to record a seventh straight nonconference men’s basketball win Saturday afternoon, 79-70 in Berkeley, Calif.
Ames finished with 20 points and Lee Dort snatched a game-high 13 rebounds for Cal (10-1), whose winning streak is its longest since a seven-gamer by the 2016 Golden Bears, the school’s most recent NCAA Tournament participant.
Izzy Miles had a career-high 22 points for Northwestern State, (2-8, 1-1), which went up 65-62 on a Landyn Jumawan 3-pointer with 7:25 to play.
The Golden Bears dominated most of the rest of the game, however, with a dunk by Dort at the 7:07 mark triggering a 12-0 run.
Ames’ layup 41 seconds later created the second half’s 10th and final lead change, after which Camden added a dunk, Semetri Carr and Dort two free throws apiece and Nolan Dorsey a dunk of his own to complete the 12-point burst that put Cal up nine, 74-65, with 2:01 to go.
Northwestern State missed six straight shots and mixed in a pair of turnovers during its drought, which lasted until Chris Mubiru dropped in a pair of free throws with 1:08 left.
The Demons never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
Camden’s 25 points came mostly on 6-for-9 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Ames added three 3-pointers and Carr two as the Golden Bears shot 12 for 26 from deep.
Filling in for absent Justin Pippen, Carr finished with 14 points and a game-high seven assists.
Miles connected on three of his four 3-point attempts in his 22-point performance for Northwestern State, which was coming off a 76-68 road win over Southeastern Louisiana in a Southland Conference contest.
Micah Thomas chipped in with 13 points and a team-high five assists for the Demons, while Willie Williams grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
