Cal Basketball: Bears Lead Early, Lose 97-90 in Double-Overtime at Butler

Cal drops to 3-6 after it fifth loss by either 3 points or fewer or in overtime.

Cal keeps getting close, but what could have been the Bears’ best victory of the season eluded them Saturday in a 97-90 double-overtime loss to Butler in Hinkle Fieldhouse at Indianapolis.

First-year coach Mark Madsen’s squad falls to 3-6, but their past five defeats have included three by three points and two in overtime or double OT.

Madsen praised his players but also expressed an urgency to take a step forward after another close defeat.

“I told them in the locker room I was proud of them for how hard they fought, how they battled the entire time,” he said. “I also reiterated, `Hey, we have to get better. We have to start making the plays late in the ballgame that will allow us to win a game on the road like this against a great opponent like Butler.’ “

The Bears were good offensively most of the game, which tipped off at 9 a.m. PT. But after Butler shot just 3-for-15 to start the game, the Bulldogs converted 60 percent the remainder of the game.

Butler coach Thad Matta, whose team improved to 8-2, was impressed by the Bears. “That team right there is the best 3-5 team in college basketball,” Matta said.

Butler has won 76 of its last 78 non-conference home games.

The Bears got 83 points from their four Division I transfers:

— Fardaws Aimaq assembled his sixth double-double with 24 points and 16 rebounds

— Jalen Cone scored 23 points and made seven 3-pointers for the second game in a row

— Keonte Kennedy, in just his second game since getting healthy, scored 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and zero turnovers in 49 minutes on the court

— Jaylon Tyson, shut out in the first half, wound up with 16 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds despite being bothered by an ankle sprain

Aimaq, Cone and Kennedy became the first Cal threesome to all score at least 20 points in a game since Feb. 5, 2011, when Harper Kamp (33 points), Allen Crabbe (27) and Jorge Gutierrez (25) did it in a 107-105 triple-overtime loss to No. 21 Arizona.

The Bears led 16-4 early in the game and rallied from 11 points down in the second half, forcing the first overtime on a 3-pointer by Cone with 4 seconds left after an offensive rebound and assist from Aimaq.

Tyson couldn’t get a tough driving layup to fall with 3 seconds left in the first extra period, leading to the second overtime.

Aimaq scored to open the final session before the Bulldogs ran off nine straight points for a 92-85 lead with under 2 minutes left. "We needed to get more defensive stops late in the game," Madsen said. "Butler made the plays when they had to."

A driving layup by Kennedy cut the margin to five points but Jahmyl Telfort answered with a 3-pointer and Butler built its advantage to 10 points before Cone made a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Point guard Posh Alexander had 21 points and six assists for Butler, Telfort scored 20 and Pierre Brooks added 18 points and seven rebounds.

— Redshirt junior guard Jalen Celestine returned after missing the previous five games due to injury and played 10 scoreless minutes off the bench.

“Jalen’s working his way back,” Madsen said. “He’s been able to practice a lot . . . as Jalen continues to regain his full strength I’m sure next week he’ll start doing the entire practice every day. As he does that, he’ll get more and more into rhythm.”

— Sophomore reserve big man ND Okafor suffered what looked like a right knee injury with 13:53 left in the second half when Butler’s Pierre Brooks was knocked into him. Okafor was helped off the floor and did not return.

Madsen made no remarks postgame related to Okafor’s status.

— The Bears were without point guard Devin Askew for the sixth straight game due to a foot injury. Askew, who averaged 10 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists through the first three games, was the team’s top scorer a year ago as a transfer from Texas, averaging 15.6 points.

— Cal played its first true non-conference road game against a Power 5 team since a 63-62 overtime loss at Virginia on Dec. 22, 2015 and experienced its first double-overtime contest since a 75-68 win over Southern Utah on Nov. 18, 2021.

— The Bears play their next game on a week from today at San Antonio against Ole Miss, which takes an 8-0 record into a Sunday game at UCF.

Cover photo of Keonte Kennedy by CK Hicks, KLC fotos

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo