If there was something to learn from Cal's exhibition against Cal State Los Angeles, it's that Grant Anticevich is confident in his shot. With an 8-9 start from the field in the first half, the super-senior forward from Sydney, Australia had 19 of his 23 points in the first half as the Bears put distance in between themselves and the division II Cal State LA Golden Eagles with an 11-0 run in the first four minutes, had a 20 point lead by halftime, and finished off their exhibition playing all 12 available scholarship players and all 14 available players in a 92-58 victory.

Cal started their most experienced lineup, with regulars Joel Brown, Anticevich, and Andre Kelly joined by Kuany Kuany and grad transfer Jordan Shepherd, a lineup Cal may adjust based on matchups. Cal had a clear length advantage, something they haven't had in the past, even in their exhibition games.

Anticevich would score 8 of Cal's first 14 points and 12 of the first 22. Cal would shoot 63.3% in the half, with Kelly and Anticevich combining for 29 of the 49 first half points. The two bigs would finish with 40 total points on 18-22 shooting, with the Bears shooting at a 62.1% clip for the game. Joel Brown had 7 assists to lead the Bears in the category, while Sam Alajiki led the Bears in rebounds with 5.

Quick Takeaways

- Cal was able to rotate 11 guys in during the first half, as the depth is something that the Bears want to use. Those 11 guys, everyone healthy except for Dimitrios Klonoras, Logan Alters, and Blake Welle, all played at least 10 minutes.

- Cal had 25 assists, with a big emphasis on big to big passing with Andre Kelly putting up five assists of his own. All three of Cal's returning bigs, Anticevich, Kelly, and Lars Thiemann scored in double figures (23, 17, and 10 respectively). Jordan Shepherd had 11 for the Bears, and spent a solid portion after the game getting up shots in Haas Pavilion.

- Cal State LA had 27 turnovers, as Mark Fox noted in the post-game that the Bears had a physical advantage over their D2 opponent.

- The true freshmen, Alajiki and Anyanwu are still getting comfortable, as Fox has told them "it's not going to be as easy for you as it is for Grant," but Alajiki scored 5 points to go along with his five rebounds, hitting a three after throwing down some impressive dunks pregame

- Fox noted that he expected to get at least one of the three missing players, Monty Bowser, Marsalis Roberson, and DJ Thorpe, back in the next week prior to the Bears' opener against UC San Diego.

This isn't the most telling contest for the Bears, who will move into their home opener next Tuesday against UCSD with slightly more experience under their belts. We know Joel Brown and Jarred Hyder will take the point, Grant Anticevich will be quick to shoot, and the Cal bigs may be the Bears' best source of offense. Other than that, this team is still somewhat of an enigma moving forward, as a larger sample size is needed.