Paris Austin, Andre Kelly and Matt Bradley did all the scoring in a 17-point run midway through the second half that propelled California to an 87-71 home victory over Pepperdine in Mark Fox's coaching debut for the Golden Bears.
Bradley led all scorers with 25 points, Kelly added 16 and Austin 14 for Cal (1-0), which fired Wyking Jones after a pair of eight-win seasons.
Colbey Ross had 19 points and a game-high seven assists to pace Pepperdine (0-1), a 16-win club a year ago.
Both teams enjoyed a seven-point lead in the first period before the Waves from the West Coast Conference went into halftime with a 37-35 advantage.
The visitors' lead was three on a Kessler Edwards dunk with 14:35 to play before the Golden Bears did all the scoring for nearly the next five minutes to take command.
Austin got the run rolling with a layup before Kelly gave Cal the lead for good with a three-point play with 13:49 remaining.
Kelly scored again from short range, after which Austin dropped in a pair of free throws and another layup for an eight-point lead.
Bradley then broke the game open with consecutive 3-pointers, giving the Golden Bears a 63-49 advantage with 10:05 left.
Jade' Smith ended Pepperdine's drought with 9:46 to go, but the Waves got no closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Canadian import Kareem South was a fourth Cal player in double figures with 14 points, hitting two of his four 3-point attempts. The Golden Bears shot 10-for-19 (52.6 percent) from beyond college basketball's lengthened arc.
Australian Grant Anticevich shared game-high rebound honors with Kelly with 10 apiece for Cal.
Edwards totaled 18 points and Skylar Chavez added 13 for Pepperdine, which improved from 6-26 to 16-18 in Lorenzo Romar's first season as coach last year.
Cal outshot Pepperdine 57.4 percent to 37.1.
--Field Level Media
Pepperdine | California | |
Colbey Ross 19 | Scoring | Matt Bradley 25 |
Colbey Ross 7 | Assists | Paris Austin 3 |
Kameron Edwards 4 | Rebounds | Grant Anticevich 10 |
Colbey Ross 7 | Free Throws Made | Paris Austin 6 |
Kessler Edwards 1 | Steals | Paris Austin 1 |
Victor Ohia Obioha 2 | Blocks | Matt Bradley 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Pepperdine | 71 | 37.1 | 10-29 | 9-9 | 16 | 28 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
California | 87 | 57.4 | 10-19 | 15-18 | 12 | 35 | 1 | 4 | 12 |