On Saturday, Cal men’s basketball fell to Oregon State in Corvallis by a final score of 74-56. Oregon State senior forward Tres Tinkle led the way for the Beavers with 24 points and 6 rebounds while senior center Kylor Kelley finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Cal senior guard Paris Austin was the top performer for the Golden Bears with 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists off the bench while Cal freshman forward Kuany Kuany finished with a career-high 11 points to go along with 4 rebounds. Oregon State improves to 17-13 overall and 7-11 in the Pac-12 while Cal falls to 13-18 overall and 7-11 in the Pac-12.

Oregon State led 6-2 with 15:49 to go in the 1st half. Tinkle and Kelley each had 3 points for the Beavers while Andre Kelly had a bucket inside for the Bears. Cal was shooting 1-6 from the field. Their offense needed to wake up.

Oregon State would then lead 10-6 with 11:39 to go in the half after Cal tied the game up 6-6. A layup from junior guard Ethan Thompson and a dunk from Kylor Kelley broke the tie, putting Oregon State on a mini 4-0 run. Cal sophomore guard Matt Bradley (0-3 from the field) was yet to score.

Oregon State would expand their lead 20-10 with 7:44 to go in the half after back-to-back threes from Jarod Lucas and Tres Tinkle. It looked like it would be another long day for the Golden Bears.

Over the next few minutes, Cal would work themselves back into the game, trailing 26-21 with 2:21 to go until halftime. Andre Kelly got a tip in off a Matt Bradley miss and then Bradley finally got on the board with a 3-pointer.

Neither team scored in the final two minutes, making it a 26-21 Oregon State lead at halftime. Tinkle’s 11 points and 4 rebounds led the Beavers while Kelley had 7 points. As for Cal, Paris Austin was leading the comeback with 6 points and 3 rebounds. After looking like this game would be a blowout, Cal was back in the game.

To start the second half, Oregon State got back to work, leading 38-28 with 13:31 to go. Kelley now had 11 points, joining Tinkle in the double digit department. Bradley (6 points) was starting to get going for Cal a bit, but it wasn’t enough. Cal had 0 points in the last 2:21, once again struggling to score.

With 10:47 to go, Oregon State led 47-37 as Bradley picked up his 4th foul. If Cal was going to come back in the game, they would need Bradley to stay on the floor. Kelley was up to 15 points for Oregon State. Another player stepping up for the Beavers was Zach Reichle, who had 2 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. He was doing a little bit of everything. Kuany Kuany was up to 8 points for Cal, on the verge of another career-high. With 7:41 to go, Oregon State led 56-41 as Austin would go to the line after the timeout for Cal. He had 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists, continuing to fight.

With 5:45 to go, Oregon State led Cal 60-42 after a turnaround jumper from Kelley. He was up to 19 points and 7 rebounds. At this point, it looked like Oregon State had the game in the bag. However, Cal had one final burst in them, getting to within nine points of Oregon State after a pair of free throws from Bradley. Down 60-51 with 3:56 to go, Cal was hoping to pull off the miracle. Austin was up to 16 points while Kuany had a new career-high 10 points on 7-7 shooting from the foul line.

Moments later, at the 2:30 mark, Matt Bradley had an incredible block on Oregon State guard Gianni Hunt. It was the highlight of the night. Sadly, Bradley was called for a technical foul for taunting and was done for the game as that was his fifth foul.

From there, Oregon State regained momentum and cruised to a 74-56 win. After looking like they might come back, Cal ran out of gas after Bradley fouled out. To Cal’s credit, they battled hard and didn’t give up, but as they found out, it’s tough to pull off a comeback on the road. Especially when it’s Senior Day.

The two players who most stood out for Cal was Paris Austin and Kuany Kuany, both of whom came off the bench. Austin’s 18 points kept Cal in the game longer than they should have stayed in the game while Kuany’s career-high 11 points was once again a bright spot. Kuany shot 8-9 from the foul line, showing tremendous improvement in his shooting.

Up next for Cal is the Pac-12 Tournament. They’ll play in the 1st round on Wednesday. Their opponent is TBD.