California defeated SMU 73-69 in a closely contested men’s basketball game on Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. Justin Pippen led the Golden Bears with 24 points, scoring 19 of them in the second half. He was instrumental during a key 10-2 run late in the game, helping Cal build a six-point lead.
SMU responded with a nine-point run, including two three-pointers, to regain the lead at 67-64 with just under two minutes left. John Camden tied the game for Cal with two free throws before Pippen hit a jumper and converted four consecutive free throws to put Cal ahead 72-69 with 12 seconds remaining. SMU missed a three-point attempt on their next possession, and Lee Dort added another free throw for Cal to secure the win.
Pippen finished shooting 8-of-19 from the field and made six of seven free throws, despite missing eight of his ten three-point attempts. Chris Bell contributed 20 points for California, making four shots from beyond the arc. Camden added 14 points and Dort recorded seven points along with ten rebounds.
For SMU, Miller and Washington each scored 15 points while another player added 14 points and Samet Yigitoglu chipped in with 11. Bell helped Cal take a five-point lead into halftime by scoring 15 first-half points.
With this result, California improved its record to 20-8 overall and 8-7 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. SMU dropped to 19-9 overall and also stands at 8-7 in conference games.
Looking ahead, SMU will face Stanford on Saturday at Maples Pavilion. California is set to host Pittsburgh that same day.
The matchup was notable as both teams entered as top-60 programs according to NCAA NET rankings; SMU was ranked No. 30 while Cal stood at No. 59 before tipoff.
Head Coach Andy Enfield now holds a season record of 19-9 at SMU and has an overall coaching record of 304-195 over his career spanning fifteen seasons.
Statistically, SMU outperformed Cal in several areas: they shot better from the field (45.5% vs. Cal’s 40%), collected more rebounds (44 compared to Cal’s 33), and scored more second-chance points (16 versus six). However, turnovers proved costly for SMU as they committed fourteen compared to only eight by California.
Miller extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to thirty-five consecutive contests—the longest such streak for an SMU player since at least the year 2000—and entered this game averaging nearly nineteen points per outing this season.
The Mustangs had four players score in double figures for the twenty-fifth time this season; when achieving this mark under Coach Enfield, they have posted a record of sixteen wins against nine losses.
