By Morris Phillips

Almost simultaneously on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion, the Cal Bears were surprising with their growth, while their inexperience was killing them.

In jumping to a 27-14 lead, Cal patiently ran its offense while limiting the Bruins to one shot at the other end. But with the Bears unable to keep UCLA out of the paint, and unable to defend without fouling, things unraveled quickly.

An 18-0 run wiped out Cal’s advantage and gave UCLA the lead at halftime. The Bruins then weathered some anxious moments as the Bears took their final (and only lead of the second half) with 11:58 remaining.

But at that point, the Bruins toughened, while Cal (7-10, 1-7) disintegrated with one missed shot after another.

Our defense really came round today,” UCLA’s Aaron Holiday said. “It just shows how hard we fought and well we can play when we’re playing defense like that.”

Defensive toughness wasn’t really UCLA’s issue after they shot the lights out, scoring 107 points on 58 percent shooting in Berkeley on January 6. But they made it their mandate after a three-game losing streak robbed them of their swagger. Losing starting center Thomas Welsh to a knee sprain midway through the first half didn’t figure to enhance the Bruins’ defensive intensity.

The Bears were without leading scorer Don Coleman, who remained in Berkeley due to a violation of team rules. His suspension will last indefinitely. When starting center Marcus Lee picked up two, first half fouls, the Bruins took advantage of Cal’s fractured defense with shot after shot in the painted area.

During that stretch, the Bears’ offense wasn’t any better, making just one basket over the final 9:20 of the half even with Welsh sitting.

“I thought the ball movement was great until Marcus (Lee) went out of the game,” coach Wyking Jones said. “When he goes out of the game, it makes it more difficult for us.”

With Lee on the floor, Justice Sueing thrived. The freshman forward had 10 of Cal’s first 27 points as they established a double-digit lead. Then with Cal down in the second half, Sueing came up with eight consecutive points to get Cal their last lead. Sueing finished with a game-high 24 points.

UCLA (14-7, 5-4) took control for good starting with Jaylen Hands steal and break away dunk that put the Bruins up 58 -51 with 5:43 remaining. After Juhwan Harris-Dyson was fouled but missed a free throw on Cal’s ensuing possession, Holiday canned a three. The Bears never got closer than eight points after that.

Cal shot just 35 percent from the floor, and missed 7 of their 16 free throw attempts. UCLA benefitted from all the Bears fouling by making 25 of 32 from the stripe.  Cal’s 19 offensive rebounds? Indicative of their effort, but telling of their acumen.

“We just have to make shots,” Jones said.

Cal will attempt to avoid a 1-8 start to conference play at USC on Sunday. The Trojans sit alone in second place at 7-2 after their narrow win over Stanford on Wednesday at the Galen Center.