By Morris Phillips

Ivan Rabb was off his game, Jabari Bird needed help, and the Bears came up just short at Pearl Harbor on Wednesday.

Bird’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer would have tied it, but Seton Hall survived 60-57 after they broke open a close game with 12 minutes remaining.

The loss dropped Cal to 7-2 on the season as they split a pair of games at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena.  On Wednesday, on the 75^th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the Bears and Pirates played before more than 2,000 service men and women.

Seton Hall improved to 7-2 on the season, and captured an important, resume building win.  The Pirates were led by Angel Delgado with 16 points and 12 rebounds.  Desi Rodriguez added 15, and Khadeen Carrington 14 for Seton Hall, the Big East entrant that also was a NCAA tournament qualifier along with Cal in 2015.

The Bears shot 43 percent from the field for the game, but more pointedly, they missed too many threes and squandered too many opportunities at the free throw line.  Along with Bird’s miss at the buzzer, Cal missed 13 of 16 three-point attempts.  They also missed 10 of 18 free throw attempts, and failed to take advantage of Seton Hall’s similar struggles at the stripe (9 of 20).

Bird led the Bears with a game-best 22 points, and freshman Charlie Moore added 12, but no other Bears scored in double figures.  Rabb played 30 minutes, but seemed to struggle with a wrist injury, finishing with 8 points and 8 rebounds.

The Bears led by three at the half, and were even with the Pirates with 12 minutes to go after Carrington’s three tied it.  But Seton Hall scored the next seven points of the game, and never trailed again.

The Bears return to the mainland and Haas Pavilion on Saturday for a matchup with Big West opponent UC Davis.