On Saturday, Cal men’s basketball suffered a disappointing 62-51 loss in Seattle against the Washington Huskies. Washington senior guard Quade Green was the top performer for the Huskies with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists while Cal junior guard Matt Bradley finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds on a very inefficient 3-16 shooting from the field. Cal junior forward Andre Kelly finished with a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Washington improves to 5-17 overall and 4-13 in the Pac-12 while Cal falls to 8-17 overall and 3-15 in the Pac-12.

“I thought that we played a lot harder defensively tonight than we did the first game of this trip, but we didn’t finish plays and created some good looks,” Cal head coach Mark Fox said after the game. “Gotta finish more of the those plays. Gotta make your free throws to win on the road…Just didn’t make enough plays or make enough free throws to win the game.”

Early on, the game was tight as Washington and Cal were tied 7-7 with 15:28 to go in the half. Senior guard Travis Rice, who averages 2 minutes per game, started for the Huskies and kicked things off with a nice triple. Makale Foreman had a triple for the Bears as well.

With 11:29 to go in the half, Washington was up 10-9. Both teams were struggling on offense. Washington was shooting 3-11 (27.3%) from the field while Cal was shooting 4-12 (33.3%). Washington would then go up 19-14 with 6:23 to go in the half as they were shooting a decent 4-7 from 3-point range. Cal needed to tighten up the perimeter defense. A weakness they’ve had all season.

Washington’s lead would soon expand 24-14 with 4:45 to go after Cole Bajema hit a 3-pointer. He had time to set his feet, grab a Coke, and knock it down. Cal’s perimeter defense continued to struggle.

To Cal’s credit, they battled back thanks to a mini 4-0 run from Grant Anticevich and Andre Kelly. As a result, Washington now led 24-18 with 3:59 to go in the half. Cal wasn’t giving up and doing all they could to keep the game close.

At the half, Washington led 30-23. Lars Thiemann went 1-2 at the foul line for Cal after getting fouled with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. Cal caught a bit of a break there. Quade Green was leading the Huskies with 6 points on 2-5 shooting from the field and 2-2 shooting from the foul line. Andre Kelly was leading the Bears with 8 points and 5 rebounds on 2-3 shooting from the field and 4-5 shooting from the foul line.

As for Matt Bradley, he was having an off night for Cal as he had just 3 points on 1-8 shooting from the field. Unfortunately, he was dealing with a stomach flu of some sorts and was doing his best to battle through it. If you watched the game, you could tell he wasn’t feeling at his best.

“I was proud of Matt,” Fox said of his star player. “Matt’s had to ask out of the game to get sick in the trash can. He kept playing. The ball didn’t go in for him, but I Thought he played courageously…I tell you he competed really hard. It was a tough thing for him to overcome tonight…We can’t leave 10 or 11 points at the free throw line and win…His stomach was upset before the game, but he felt comfortable to play before the game…He did his best to battle through. Not to take anything away from Washington. I thought their kids played with an extra edge.”

The second half didn’t get off to the kind of start Cal was hoping for as Washington led 37-26 with 16:26 to go. Green was out there making plays for the Huskies as he had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. He’s a really crafty finisher with nice court vision. One pass he made into the open floor reminded me of a play John Stockton would make.

“He was an elite level recruit and older player now,” Fox said of Green. “I coached against him in my previous life in the SEC. He’s athletic, he’s quick. He can change directions on the dribble, really good penetrator. He’s a tough matchup…He’s a talented player.”

With 11:23 to go, Washington was up 42-34. Bey, Green, and Tsohonis each had 8 points for the Huskies. Anticevich and Kelly each had 8 points for the Bears while Bradley had 7 points. Cal was hanging around, not giving up on the game.

With 8:08 to go, Washington was now up by just four points (48-44). Green (11 points) and Bey (10 points) continued their solid performances for the Huskies while Kelly (10 points & 9 rebounds) was doing his part for the Bears. To Cal’s credit, they were playing hard and staying alive. Kelly would soon take a hard fall off a collision with Erik Stevenson. Fortunately both guys were alright and would return to the game.

Rather than allowing Cal to creep back further into the game, Washington found a way to fend them off to lead 57-49 with 3:55 to go. The rough night for Bradley continued as he had 12 points on 3-15 shooting from the field. It just wasn’t his night.

Washington would lead 61-50 with 1:02 to go and at this point, the only question was what the final score would be. In the end, the final score was a 62-51 win for Washington. To Cal’s credit, they battled a lot harder than they did on Thursday night. They played for the full 40 minutes and gave it their all. They also were without Joel Brown who was out with a lower leg injury and Bradley as was mentioned earlier was not feeling 100% due to his stomach virus/illness.

“No, he’s got a lower leg injury that swelled up on him,” Fox said of Brown. “So he’s on the mend. We don’t have any timetable on that. I hope it’s not long.”

Still, this loss is disappointing. This game ended up being a toss-up per the oddsmakers in Las Vegas and Cal lost by 11 points. To rub even more salt into the wound, Cal’s 3-15 Pac-12 record is the exact same record they had in Wyking Jones’ second year. Jones ended up getting fired after that season and was replaced by Mark Fox.

As for Washington, this victory has to feel good. They too have had a really rough season. To win on Senior Day and end the season on some sort of positive note, has to give them a little bounce in their step. Odds are good this is their last win of the season as they conclude the regular season with three road games at Arizona State (twice) and Arizona.

Up next for Cal is a home game against Oregon State on Thursday. That game will air at 7:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks and KGO 810 AM.