Basketball is a game of runs, and one of them mattered most Wednesday night. A 16-3 run by SMU in the first half completely flipped the game resulting in Cal's first loss since Jan. 15.
The Bears went into Wednesday night's matchup at Moody Coliseum in Dallas without two of their starters as leading scorer Andrej Stojakovic (hip) missed his third consecutive game while center Mady Sissoko missed his first contest of the season while in concussion protocol.
The end result was simply not enough firepower offensively or enough help on the glass for the Bears to avoid a 76-65 loss to the Mustangs.
"We're coming off a stretch where this team has had a lot of adversity," Cal head coach Mark Madsen said. "... Not having Andrej and Mady, guys have been thrust into new positions on the court. I've gotta do a better job coaching them, and getting them more comfortable faster at new positions.
"Devin Curtis worked hard this week and we were hoping to have him available for tonight as a back up center; he wasn't ready. We've been shooting free throws well, and tonight we were 14 for 21 and 5 for 25 from 3. We did not shoot it well, and SMU contested a lot of those 3-point shots. So, just, we couldn't get over the hump."
Arlington native Rytis Petraitis was one of the few bright spots in the entirety of the game for the Bears (11-10, 4-6 ACC) as he returned home to Texas and logged his second double-double in the last three games. The junior forward scored a team-high 18 points and led the Bears with 10 rebounds as well.
Petraitis, who went 6 for 10 from the field and knocked down all four of his free-throw attempts, scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half as the Bears worked to claw back into the matchup after trailing by 10 points at halftime.
"Rytis Petraitis is a throwback to an era where everybody could kind of do everything," Madsen said. "He was 2 for 3 from the 3-point line. Rytis is someone who he's such a smart basketball player. He makes plays where you say to yourself, how did he just get that done? He has ties to Dallas with his family being here, and he's been such a big part of our locker room and our team culture."
Cal had several segments of the game when it went completely cold from the field including a stretch of nearly 6 minutes between baskets in the opening half that allowed SMU (16-5, 7-3) to go on its game-changing run.
Prior to that change in momentum, the Bears had put together a 7-0 run highlighted by one of the 3-pointers from Petraitis that allowed Cal to take a 21-17 lead with 9:50 to play in the opening half.
Up until that point, the Mustangs struggled to find any kind of rhythm on offense before turning to 6-foot-7 forward Matt Cross who created some matchup problems for the shorthanded Bears.
Madsen had the Bears play some zone and used a smaller lineup for part of the game to try and counter the blitz from SMU on offense, but Cal struggled to find enough answers as the night played out.
Cal didn't lead in the second half but was able to get as close as 6 points thanks to the play of Petraitis and contributions from point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., who finished with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.
A small run with 10:12 to play made it a 61-55 game with 5:17 to play, but the Mustangs responded with a 6-0 run to push the lead back up to 12 and give SMU a cushion down the stretch.
Freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson continued his strong play amid his ACC Co-Freshman of the Week honor on Monday with 16 points and a team-high 4 assists Wednesday night against the Mustangs.
Lee Dort stepped in for Sissoko at the starting center position, and the Cal big man finished the night with 7 points and 7 rebounds plus an assist in 32 minutes of action.
As a group, the Bears were outrebounded, 47-36, and outscored in the paint, 40-30, without their top post player. The struggles from outside continued for the Bears as they shot just 5 for 25 from 3-point range and hit just 23-of-67 shots from the floor against SMU.
The Mustangs had four players finish in double figures led by 20 points for guard Chuck Harris plus 15 points and 14 rebounds for Cross.
The Bears will return home this weekend for the first of three games at Haas Pavilion in the span of a week beginning with a matchup against Syracuse on Saturday at 7 p.m.
