By Morris Phillips Senior night at Berkeley started and ended well, but the desired result couldn’t mask how tense things got in between. California basketball’s classy sendoff to David Kravish, Christian Behrens and Dwight Tarwater was almost upended by defensive-minded Oregon State, looking to expand on relevance in basketball circles the school hadn’t experienced since the early 90’s.  Leading 44-36 with 14 minutes remaining, the Beavers had Cal by the throat and the Haas Pavilion crowd sitting on their hands. In addition, a trio of high profile recruits sitting behind the Bears’ bench weren’t getting the fine-tailored presentation the Cal program and university had anticipated.  Quite simply, Coach Cuonzo Martin and his student-athletes had to engage themselves in some old-fashioned problem solving on the spot. The Bears responded with 18 consecutive points, turning the deficit into a double-digit lead and Cal cruised to a 73-56 win in their home finale.  In the deciding run, the Bears got a big boost from Kravish as well as an unexpected one from Behrens.  Kravish scored 12 of his 14 points after the biggest deficit, and Behrens gave the Bears an inside presence that helped to compromise Oregon State’s stifling 2-3 matchup zone. “It helped that Christian was able to play around the rim,” Martin said.  “He might not have scored much, but he held that big guy down so now your corner guys can get threes and you can move the ball.” The Bears picked up the pace, turning the tables on OSU by controlling the boards and running in transition.  The shift unleashed Cal’s perimeter trio of Tyrone Wallace, Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews who scored all but two of the 18 points in the run. While the strategic change didn’t surprise Coach Wayne Tinkle or OSU, it wasn’t clear where Cal found the energy; minus center Kingsley Okoroh, Martin would end up playing just seven players for the first time all season. “You’re not presenting anything new,” Martin explained.  “So it’s just a matter of finding ways to get a win.  The toughest part about senior day is that it’s always a very emotional time.  You don’t want to get down 10 or 15 early because of the emotion around the game.” Oregon State was attempting to snag a ninth conference win for the first time since 1993.  But in the end, the Beavers were who most thought they were.  Stubborn defensively, but prone to serious scoring droughts, OSU fell short in all nine of their conference road games, while winning all eight Pac-12 contests at Gill Coliseum with one home game remaining against rival Oregon.  In addition to Cal’s pressure, the Beavers likely had their road failures play heavily on their minds. “We couldn’t get baskets so we couldn’t set up our D,” Tinkle said.  “We started gambling in the backcourt and gave up timely put-backs and and-one’s.  We had defensive breakdowns.  They just were much more aggressive which is exactly what we said in the second half, that they were going to drive it, drive it, drive it.” With the win, Cal (17-12, 7-9) moved into a tie for seventh place with Arizona State, who lost at Colorado on Sunday.  While the NCAA tournament remains a distinct long shot, an NIT bid may be realistic goal for a team that started Pac-12 play 1-6.  Of course, Cal could enter the NCAA conversation with an upset win at No. 7 Arizona on Thursday.  But that’s easier said than done; the Wildcats held Cal to a season-low 34 points in an earlier win at Berkeley. What may be more realistic is hope for a better tomorrow for Cal.  High level recruits Ivan Rabb, Caleb Swanigan and Davon Dillard attended Sunday’s game and Dillard, a 6’5” shooting guard from Gary, Indiana announced his unofficial commitment via twitter during the game.  Rabb, the well-known, nationally sought-after recruit from Bishop O’Dowd in Oakland claims a friendship with Swanigan, a powerful 6’9” inside player from Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  If Rabb–rated No. 5 nationally—and Swanigan join Dillard, Cal would instantly be catapulted onto the national scene similar to the Jason Kidd/Leon Powe/Sharif Abdur-Rahim signings of the past.