Yale limited California to five field goals in the first half en route to a 12-point lead and held on Saturday afternoon (Friday night in the United States) for a 76-59 nonconference victory in each team's season opener in Shanghai, China.
Azar Swain came off the bench to bury four 3-pointers and Miye Oni went for 16 points as the Bulldogs (1-0) turned back the Golden Bears (0-1) in the schools' first meeting since 2000.
Cal's Paris Austin was the game's top scorer with 18 points.
Swain hit a pair of 3-pointers -- one more than the entire Cal team -- in the slow-paced first half in which the Bulldogs made 11 of their 23 shots. The Bears, meanwhile, struggled through 5-for-25 shooting in the first 20 minutes.
Cal, a 24-game loser last season, never got closer than 12 in the second half, and found itself down 20 for the first time after a Blake Reynolds free throw with 9:23 to go.
Swain matched teammate Oni's 16-point total for the Bulldogs, who went 16-15 last season.
Alex Copeland added 11 points for Yale, while Jordan Bruner collected a team-high eight rebounds to go with nine points.
The Bulldogs shot 48.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent (9-for-21) on 3-pointers.
Austin shot 6-for-10 from the field to help compile his 18 points for the Bears, who finished at 35.3 percent from the field and 20.0 percent (2-for-10) on 3-pointers.
Freshman Matt Bradley had 13 points for Cal, whose Andre Kelly was the game's leading rebounder with 10 to complement seven points.
--Field Level Media
Yale | California | |
Miye Oni 16 | Scoring | Paris Austin 18 |
Azar Swain 4 | Assists | Paris Austin 2 |
Jordan Bruner 8 | Rebounds | Andre Kelly 10 |
Miye Oni 5 | Free Throws Made | Paris Austin 6 |
Trey Phills 3 | Steals | Darius McNeill 3 |
Paul Atkinson 1 | Blocks | Matt Bradley 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Yale | 76 | 48.1 | 9-21 | 17-25 | 14 | 36 | 4 | 7 | 19 |
California | 59 | 35.3 | 2-10 | 21-32 | 6 | 28 | 1 | 6 | 16 |