Jeremiah Wilkinson scores 25 points and Cal drops Mercyhurst 81-55

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) Freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson increased his season highs to 25 points and six 3-pointers to lead California to an 81-55 victory over Mercyhurst on Wednesday night in the final game of the Cal Classic.

Wilkinson, a backup guard, made 9 of 12 shots overall and 6 of 8 3-pointers. His previous highs were 23 points and two 3-pointers, both against Air Force. He also had personal bests of four assists and two steals against Mercyhurst.

Andrej Stojakovic had 15 points and Joshua Ola-Joseph added 13 for Cal (6-1).

One 3-pointer by Stojakovic and two from Wilkinson helped the Golden Bears push their 18-point halftime lead to 58-35. Later, a 10-0 run that started near the 10-minute mark gave Cal a 30-point lead. The Lakers went four minutes without a field goal.

A four-point play by Devin Curtis gave the Bears their biggest lead, 81-48, with 2:50 remaining.

Bernie Blunt scored 11 points and Aidan Reichert added 10 for the Lakers (4-4).

The Golden Bears scored two points in the first 4 1/2 minutes but 65% from the field over the remainder of the first half. A 10-2 finishing run gave them a 41-23 halftime lead. Wilkinson led the way with 3 of 4 3-pointers and 12 points.

The Cal Classic was a multi-team event that began on Nov. 21. Cal defeated Air Force and Sacramento State in earlier games.

The Bears are off to their best start to a season since 2016-17.

--- Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball