By Morris Phillips

The struggling Arizona Wildcats hadn’t won a game in three weeks, but those issues didn’t persist with the Cal Bears visiting McKale Center Thursday night.

The Bears shooting percentage defense ranks just above the bottom of the spectrum in 353-member Division I basketball, which brings into question whether a team playing defense on par with Elon or Houston Baptist can stop a traditional powerhouse like Arizona, even if they’re going through one of their roughest stretches with seven, consecutive losses.

Well, based on what transpired between the Bears and Wildcats, the answer is no. Arizona started slow, missing it share of shots in what was an ugly game offensively, but an 11-0 run early in the second half propelled them to an easy 76-51 victory.

So while Arizona’s offense struggled, it wasn’t to the degree that Cal’s offense did, as 30 percent shooting made it impossible for the Bears to gain traction on Thursday. The Bears missed 20 of their 26 3-point attempts, and appeared to labor with each miss creating additional pressure on the visitors.

“Guys want to make plays and they want to get back into the win column so bad that we’re not allowing ourselves to slow down and make the right play,” coach Wyking Jones said of his anxious Bears.

Cal lost for the 15th consecutive time, a streak that includes a second, 20-point loss to Arizona at home on January 12. The Bears are assured the bottom seed in the upcoming Pac-12 conference tournament in Las Vegas, and an opening round matchup with the 5-seed, a position currently held by 14-win Utah.

The Bears were led by Justice Sueing’s 16 points and Paris Austin’s 12 points, the only two Cal players to score in double figures.

Cal’s Arizona swing concludes on Sunday in Tempe with a meeting with the Arizona State Sun Devils.