By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Cal basketball is under way, and no one knows what to expect.

The process of discovery kicked off Wednesday night as Cal squeezed past Division II Chico State 62-55 in their exhibition opener with the Bears featuring more new players than old.

The newness was apparent in Cal’s disjointed effort. Missed free throws and 16 offensive rebounds kept Chico State attached, and they were within four points of the hosts, down 59-55 with less than a minute to play.

“I was disappointed in our defensive rebounding,” coach Mark Fox said. “We didn’t do a good job on the glass.”

The Bears didn’t shoot it well either, finishing with 38 percent proficiency from the field while misfiring on 16 of their 18 3-point attempts. Fox felt his club’s shot selection wasn’t prudent with numerous shots early in possessions, the product of an impatient team anxious to please in its opening game.

But the Bears did get it done defensively, holding Chico to 28 percent shooting for the game, while denying their intended plan of getting hot from distance. The Wildcats were stymied early as Cal limited them to one made three on 10 attempts before halftime.

Newcomers ND Okafor and Devin Askew led the Bears with 11 points, and returning center Lars Thiemann added 10. But there was struggle in their numbers as Askew, who played previously at Kentucky then Texas, missed 10 of his team-high 14 shots from the floor. Thiemann was 4 of 9 from the foul line, part of the Bears’ disappointing 18 of 31 effort from the stripe.

The efficiency of Cal’s offense is their biggest question mark in the absence of their three leading scorers from last season, Grant Anticevich, Jordan Shepherd and Andre Kelly, who transfered to UC Santa Barbara after four seasons in Berkeley.

The Pac-12 coaches picked Cal to finish 11th in the conference standings, leaving the Bears a daunting task as they look to avoid an unprecedented, sixth consecutive losing season.

The Bears official opener comes on Monday as the UC Davis Aggies visit Haas Pavilion.