By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Two developing clubs devoid of blue chip athleticism or the confidence that comes with experience aren’t going to deliver a college basketball masterpiece in a Haas Pavilion populated by empty seats.

Instead of extended bombast punctuated with fastbreaks, think stringing together quality possessions, starting with two or three.

Washington State embraced the mundane far better than Cal in locking down on defense and hitting open shots in a 71-60 win on Thursday night.

The Cougars still don’t have a marquee win but improved to 9-1. The Bears fell to 5-7 and are still looking for their first Pac-12 victory.

The Bears played without leading scorer Matt Bradley but welcomed back Grant Anticevich, who showed some rust after an appendectomy two weeks ago. That combination contributed to Cal’s tepid 34 percent shooting from the floor, but coach Mark Fox expressed greater disappointment in his team’s effort on the glass.

“I was really disappointed in how we rebounded the ball,” Fox said of the 45-28 difference on the backboards.

The Bears weathered WSU’s 15-2 run towards the end of the first half to climb within 31-28 at the break, only to see the Cougars take control again in the opening minutes of the second half. Noah Williams’ layup gave WSU a 51-36 lead with 12:14 remaining. That gap proved insurmountable with the Bears missing shots while battling WSU’s length and aggressiveness.

“It’s harder for us to score without Matt, but we’ve got to find a way to manufacture some points,” Fox said.

The Bears were led by Andre Kelly with 11 points. Ryan Betley and Lars Thiemann each added 10 points, but Makale Foreman, Cal’s most likely offensive source in Bradley’s absence was 1 for 7 from distance and finished with 7 points.

Isaac Boyton led all scorers with 22 points, and versatile freshman Efe Abogidi added 12 points and nine rebounds to aid Washington State.

The Bears host Washington at Haas on Saturday at noon.