Cal Suffers 15th Straight Defeat in 'Heartbreaking' Loss to Oregon State

Despite a great start that staked Cal to a 16-point lead, the Bears suffered their 15th straight defeat in a 69-66 loss to Oregon State in Cal’s final regular-season game on Saturday night in Corvallis, Oregon.

Cal senior Joel Brown had a career-high 22 points, but the Bears remained winless away from home this season even though they had a lead with 29 seconds left.

"Just a heartbreaking loss," Cal coach Mark Fox said. "I feel awful for everybody because they did everything we asked them to do."

Cal’s next game will be against Washington State on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. The fifth-seeded Cougars (16-15, 11-9 Pac-12) are riding a six-game winning streak and beat Cal twice during the season.

Saturday's game against the Beavers featured 41 fouls and 54 free throws. Oregon State's Glenn Taylor Jr. had 28 points and went 15-for-16 from the foul line. But ultimately the game came down to the final few possessions.

Cal (3-28, 2-18) held a 32-16 lead in the first half and had a 10-point lead early in the second half, but Oregon State (11-20, 5-15) rallied to make it a tight game down the stretch.

After Taylor's free throw with 58 seconds remaining put Oregon State ahead by a point, Cal freshman Grant Newell gave Cal a 66-65 lead with a 14-foot shot in the lane with 29 seconds remaining.

However, Michael Rataj put the Beavers back in front by a point with a driving layup with 16 seconds to go.

"We executed perfectly in late clock to get the lead at the end of the game," Fox said. "We just didn't get the stop to go with it."

Sam Alajiki then stepped out of bounds on the Bears’ ensuring possession, and Rataj scored on a breakaway dunk with six seconds left to increase the lead to three points. Brown’s desperation three-point shot from about 30 feet away was not close.

"I thought our young team played very hard," Fox said. "I thought they played very well defensively in the first half. I thought we responded late in the second half when Oregon State made a run.

"Just really disappointed for everybody for today, the season. That responsibility goes on the coach. It's not the players' fault."

Cal finished with two more made field goals than the Beavers, but Oregon State was 24-for-29 from the foul line while the Bears were 17-for-25. The teams were virtually even in every category, as Oregon State finished shooting 42.6% from the field and Cal made 45.8% of its shots.

Cal again was without DeJuan Clayton, still out with an illness, and it’s unlikely he will play in the conference tournament. None of the Cal players available for Saturday’s game entered the contest averaging double figures in scoring.

The Bears had a great start to the game. Cal hit eight of its first nine shots from the field, while Oregon State began 1-for-9. That helped the Bears shoot out to a 15-3 lead, and they increased the advantage to 16 points at 32-16 on a Newell three-pointer with 3:42 left in the first half.

The Beavers then scored nine straight points to get back in the game and Cal settled for a 36-28 advantage at halftime. Cal shot 54.2% from the floor for the first half.

Brown entered the game averaging 6.4 points a game, but he scored 13 points in the first half on his way to his career high 22. He was 7-for-12 from the field and 2-for-2 on three-pointers before his desperation 30-footer at the buzzer hit high off the backboard.

Newell finished with 10 points, and Kuany Kuany also scored 10 points, although he fouled out with 6:16 to go.

There was one strange play in the second half that benefited Oregon State, giving the Beavers their first lead of the game.

With 10:57 left in the game and Cal holding a one-point lead, the Beavers' Jordan Pope took a shot that wedged between the rim and the backboard. Replays showed the ball had been stationary there for a split second before Cal's Monty Bowser touched it. But instead of ruling a jump ball and an alternating possession, officials called Boweser for goal-tending, and Fox received a technical foul for arguing the call. The goal-tended field goal and one free throw gave Oregon State a 52-50 lead, and was part of a nine-point Oregon State run.

Cover photo of Jel Brown by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports

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