Cal Continues 2K Classic vs. Kennesaw State Sunday

California men's basketball continues its season-opening two-game homestand against Kennesaw State Sunday (Nov. 16) at 5 p.m. PT in Haas Pavilion. Sunday's contest marks the second game of the regional round of the 2K Classic, benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project.

To purchase a ticket to Friday's game, click here or call 800-GO-BEARS.

Sunday’s game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks with Rich Cellini (play-by-play) and Kevin O'Neill (analyst) on the call. The radio broadcast team of Todd McKim (play-by-play) and former Cal assistant coach Jay John (analyst) will have the call on KGO 810 AM in the Bay Area and on CalBears.com through the TuneIn button. The pre-game show begins at 4:30 p.m. PT. 

Alcorn State recap

The Golden Bears saw their first win of the Cuonzo Martin era Friday against Alcorn State as Tyrone Wallace poured in a career-high 22 points and notched his third career double double to defeat the Braves 91-57.

Wallace was one of six Bears in double figures Friday. Jordan Mathews logged 18 points, David Kravish tallied 13 points and eight rebounds, Jabari Bird recorded 12 points and Christian Behrens and Dwight Tarwater notched 23 points, collectively, to help Cal win its ninth consecutive season-opener.

For the game, Cal connected on 52 percent (37-71) of its shots, including 42 percent (10-24) from 3-point range and 54 percent (7-13) from the charity stripe. Alcorn State shot 32 percent (18-57) from the field, 20 percent (3-15) from beyond the arc and 64 percent (10-28) from the free-throw line.

Cuonzo Martin Era Begins In Berkeley
Cuonzo Martin, who was introduced as Cal’s 16th head men’s basketball coach in program history on April 15, brings a track record of success that includes a conference Coach of the Year honor and postseason berths each of the past five seasons. He guided Tennessee the past three years, including a spot in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season, and prior to that served as the head coach at Missouri State for three years. In his first six seasons as a head coach, Martin owned a 124-82 career record. He has directed his teams to a greater win total than the previous year at each of his coaching stops.

Returning To The Lineup
The Golden Bears return three starters – senior David Kravish, junior Tyrone Wallace and guard Jabari Bird – from a 21-win team a year ago. Cal’s top returning scorer (11.4 ppg.) and rebounder (7.7 rpg.), Kravish has started the Bears’ last 88 games and enters the 2014-15 season just 30 blocks shy of Cal’s all-time record of 207 and just 107 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He was a Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection after posting a school single-season record 73 blocks as a junior. Wallace was the team’s third-leading scorer (11.4 ppg.) last season, and also led the team in steals (44) and three-point field goals (43) a year ago. Bird averaged 8.3 ppg. overall, and 16.7 ppg. in Cal’s three postseason games, making 12 starts as a freshman. Cal’s deep backcourt also features 2014 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection Jordan Mathews (8.5 ppg. last season). Cal welcomes back eight letterwinners overall.

Newcomers
Cal welcomes six newcomers to the roster. Freshman 7-1 center from Derby, England, Kingsley Okoroh, became the first signee of the Cuonzo Martin era at Cal. He is joined by fellow post player Dwight Tarwater, a 6-6 graduate transfer who played at Cornell the past four seasons. Cal also welcomes 6-7 junior guard Stephen Domingo. The San Francisco native will sit out the season after transferring from Georgetown. The Bears continue to build their backcourt depth with the addition of Alexandria, Va. native Brandon Chauca (5-9), Los Angeles native Nick Hamilton (6-4), and San Francisco native Brenden Glapion (6-3), as well as reinforce their frontcourt depth with 6-7 forward Cole Welle from Aptos, Calif.

2K Classic benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project
The 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project is the nation's premier season-opening college basketball tournament. Twelve teams from across the nation will compete in the event with four of the top teams in the country serving as regional hosts. Regional Round action takes place from Nov. 14-17 with the four hosts (Cal, Syracuse, Iowa and Texas) advancing to the Championship Rounds, Nov. 21-22, at New York's Madison Square Garden. The remainder of the field will participate in a round-robin series at one of two subregional sites. Thus, every participating team is guaranteed four games. Cal will face Syracuse on Nov. 21 in New York.