Bears Hit New Low in 68-48 Loss to OSU

BERKELEY, CA - With the Bears favored for one of the few times this season (3.5), the Oregon State Beavers came into the game dead last in the conference at 7-12, 1-7 with the Bears clinging to 10^th place at 3-16, 2-6. They ended the game finished in a 3-way tie for last after a frustrating 68-48 loss to OSU.

“So disappointed in our defensive play,” said head coach Mark Fox following the loss. “Not to take away from Oregon State because they did make 13 threes but I’m extremely disappointed in our inability to establish any kind of defense that we can rely on. We gave up 50% shooting in both halves.”

For the first 15 minutes, both teams played as if they were battling for last instead of a win, with the Bears holding a 15-14 lead with 4:30 left in the half. Then the Beavers woke up and the Bears went into hibernation, as OSU scored the final 13 points in the half to take a 27-15 lead into the locker room, suddenly catching fire from the perimeter with OSU guard Dexter Akanno starting the run with a layup and trey followed by a pair of Glen Taylor 3’s. Even by Cal’s offensively-challenged standards, their 15-point halftime total was a disaster.

It didn’t get any better from there.

The Bears briefly showed signs of life, starting the half with a Grant Newell (6 points, 3 rebounds) trey which was followed by a 9-point Beaver run. The Bears then countered with a trio of ND Okafor (7 points, 4 rebounds) buckets sandwiched around a Devin Askew 3, to briefly trim the deficit to 11 but it was all downhill from there, as OSU gradually built their lead to 28 points before settling for their 20-point win -their first in the Pac-12 since opening conference play six weeks ago with a win over Washington.

The Bears were without senior guard Dejuan Clayton and soph wing Sam Alajiki, which obviously hurt them on the offensive end but their problems went well being their shooting struggles. Their stat line of 18-for-48 from the field and 20% from 3 didn’t fully tell the story as they struggled to cover the perimeter, allowing OSU to hit 13-of-24 from the arc and securing the ball, with 14 turnovers that seemed to be double that in reality. They did get leading scorer Devin Askew back after a several-game absence but the veteran guard struggled from the field, going just 2-for-12 and 1-for-5 from 3, adding 8 points and 7 assists in the loss.

The Bears were led by forward Kuany Kuany’s 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field. He was the only Bear in double digits in the disappointing loss, which was undoubtedly their best chance of a win remaining on the schedule. Cal fell to 2-7, 3-17 on the season.