After a poor defensive effort at home, Cal went on the road to play a transfer laden UNLV foe and didn't repeat their Tuesday performance, at least on that end of the ball. The offense didn't turn around, as the Bears had a couple 3s from Jordan Shepherd miss the mark in the last minute, as they fell 55-52 to UNLV.

"I was really encouraged by the effort of our team, I thought we played really clean, offensively didn't turn it over in the first half," Fox said in his post-game radio interview, "then we had a couple shots to win it and we just didn't close it. That's the final step for us, learning how to close a game like this."

Cal held UNLV to 21-56 shooting (37.5%), but only shot 36.8% from the field themselves, as UNLV's advantage in 3s (10 to Cal's 4) helped to make the difference on a night where offense came at a premium.

The offense looked fine in the early going, with 35 of the game's 107 total points coming within the first 10 minutes. Cal led 18-17 in the early going, buoyed by some early scoring by Shepherd along with two Lars Thiemann putbacks, and would add to the lead thanks to Kuany Kuany hitting his first three of the season. Cal couldn't get separation offensively, with a couple turnovers and misses, as UNLV's 3s would keep them in the game. UNLV went 10-29 from beyond the arc for the game. Two more 3s would lead the Rebels into the half.

Cal ran a couple different zones throughout the evening, as UNLV shot 8% from deep in their opener, and while the zone worked for the most part, the lack of offensive production made those 3's that much more meaningful in the final score.

"I thought we had a couple 3 point shots we made a couple errors on in coverage," Fox said, "and they had a couple of guys who aren't really statistically known to be 3-point shooters who made threes against what the scouting report will tell you, but giving up 10 threes, it's hard to win that way."

Despite a slow start to the second half, with only four points in the first seven minutes of the second half (both jumpers by Grant Anticevich), Cal pulled back. An 11-0 run, with Andre Kelly, Brown, Anticevich (who finished with a double-double, 11 points, 10 rebounds), Jarred Hyder and Jalen Celestine all scoring, gave the Bears their largest lead of the evening, a 44-38 mark, but UNLV would keep hitting 3s to keep it a single score game. A Bryce Hamilton 3 would give UNLV the lead for good with 6:05 to go.

Cal would keep it at a one point deficit thanks to Andre Kelly getting a putback and another layup, as well as Celestine hitting some free throws, but 53-52 is as close as Cal would get, as they missed three shots in the final 30 seconds that would've either tied or put them ahead, all three coming from Shepherd. The senior, off a career-high tying 27 point game, got a layup blocked off a great set and missed an open three, after which Anticevich couldn't hold onto an offensive rebound, losing the ball out of bounds.

Cal had played a clean game up to that point, having to foul thrice to send UNLV to the line to extend the game. Jordan McCabe made both ends of the 1 and 1 to make it 55-52, and Shepherd's final 3 point attempt was off, sealing the Bears' loss and denying Fox and company their first win.

- Prior to the season, Fox noted that they'd have to have a balanced scoring attack. That happened to an extent tonight, as Anticevich was the Bears leading scorer with 11, but Cal needs more offense, especially when Shepherd has an off night, as he did tonight (3-17 from the floor, 1-6 from 3, with 4 turnovers. Whether that offense comes from Anticevich, Kelly, Joel Brown (who had a couple nice layups on the evening), Kuany Kuany, or otherwise, it has to be a focal point when the Bears return home Monday

- Cal got back Jalen Celestine and Makale Foreman for this contest, as Fox noted Celestine is still recovering from offseason surgery and had a setback prior to Tuesday's game. Cal needs more 3 point shooting moving forward, and both Celestine and Foreman can make those shots when given the opportunity, though they went 0-3 from beyond the arc today.

- Cal gets a solid WCC opponent in San Diego Monday, as the Bears look to have their first win of the season at home at Haas at 6 PM.