Recap: Tyson's second-half surge isn't enough as Cal falls to Montana State

There were moments is Thursday night's game at Haas Pavilion between Cal and visiting Montana State where it looked like the Bears would do enough to eventually put the Bobcats away. That moment never arrived, and Cal eventually only led for 1:18 as turnovers and a lack of scoring from several players for a shorthanded Bears squad took its toll.

Cal now sits at 2-2 on the season after falling to Montana State, 63-60, despite a season-high 27 points from newcomer Jaylon Tyson. The Texas Tech transfer scored 19 points in the second half helping Cal to erase what was once a 14-point lead with 15 minutes to play.

Tyson scored Cal's final 11 points and had the game down to one possession late but the Bears could not get over the hump with their last lead coming with 17:32 to play in the first half.

Turnovers were a problem for the Bears as they finished with 16 in the loss leading to 19 points for Montana State. Tyson had eight of the 16 turnovers in the game for Cal.

"To me, the game was won and lost off the points off turnovers," Bears head coach Mark Madsen said. "... So, that's on me as the head coach. You can't turn the ball over like that. The first half, our energy was not there. That's on me as the head coach. I'll address it, I'll fix it. Second half, we battled, we fought, we came up short.

"Not having two key guys hurt us, to injury, but even with that I felt like we should have played a much different basketball game. So, that's what I saw."

Tyson and big man Fardaws Aimaq (14 points, 12 rebounds) had to carry the scoring load for the Bears Thursday night with both starting point guard Devin Askew and reserve Jalen Celestine out for the game. Both appeared on the bench wearing walking boots Thursday night.

"Devin Askew does a great job of running the team," Madsen said. "We have other players that are great at running the team as well. So, I'll take that one as the head coach. We can't have that many turnovers, and especially live-ball turnovers. That's when it really hurts."

Askew and Celestine both have foot injuries, and the Cal head coach said he will have an update on both players during his next address to the media. Monty Bowser started in place of Askew.

Madsen added that the Bobcats "showed defenses that they had not yet shown this year" adding to the challenges for the Bears Thursday night.

It led to several scoring droughts for Cal throughout the evening with only Tyson and Aimaq finishing in double figures. Guard Jalen Cone was the only other player on the team to end his night with more than 3 points.

Like Madsen, Cone was encouraged by the final stretch of the game when the team closed the gap.

"I'll say the only positive takeaway is that in the second half we played Cal basketball," Cone said. "We played how we need to be playing. The first half was not us at all."

It was apparent early in Thursday's game that the Bears could be in for a battle as the Bobcats continued to have answers for any Cal run. Eventually, Montana State took control thanks to a few runs sparked by 6-foot-7 forward Brandon Walker, who finished the game with 26 points including 14 in the first half.

His efforts around the basket led to 36 points in the paint for the Bobcats as Cal had struggles defending inside despite the size advantage.

"Brandon showed what he's capable of tonight," MSU head coach Matt Logie said. "He has such a unique skillset and did a great job attacking the paint for us all night long."

Cal wrapped up its first extended homestand with two losses and will now leave Berkeley for the first time this season as it heads down to Orange County for the SoCal Challenge that opens up Monday with a game against UTEP followed by a matchup against either Tulane or Bradley and wraps up with a showcase contest against San Diego State next Saturday.

"We have to come out with more fight," Madsen said. "We have to come out with more fight, more energy and more focus from the start. Did our guys underestimate the opponent? I don't know. Maybe. But, we can never underestimate any opponent."

Videos provided courtesy of Cal Athletics