By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–When the moment of decision presented itself Monday night, the UC Davis Aggies seized it.

And with that the unprecedented happenings within the Cal basketball program multiplied.

Cal’s 75-65 loss to UC Davis in the season opener for both teams was their first in the 34-game series that dates back to 1917.

The Bears lost their season opener at home for the second, consecutive year on the heels of their 80-67 loss to UC San Diego last year.

And most significantly, the Bears, picked to finish 11th in the Pac-12 coach’s pre-season poll might not exceed expectations and suffer an unprecedented, sixth consecutive losing season, and their fourth under coach Mark Fox.

After trailing the Aggies for 26 minutes, including halftime, the Bears gained a 54-53 lead with 11:32 remaining with Devin Askew and center Lars Thiemann leading the way. Kuany Kuany’s 3-pointer and Grant Newell’s layin following a Thiemann offensive rebound gave Cal its biggest advantage at 60-54.

Then as quickly as Cal was engaged and whole, they splintered.

The Aggies put together a 17-1 run over the next seven minutes that muted the host’s crowd and decided the contest. Robbie Beasley Jr., Ty Johnson and leading, returning scorer Elijah Pepper combined for 15 of the 17 points, and UC Davis was in command leading 71-61 with 2:53 remaining.

“When we came back and took the lead, we just had a couple awful possessions that led to baskets for them, and we never recovered,” Fox said.

“We got sped up and didn’t take the right shots,” Thiemann said.

While playing at a quicker pace, and attacking the basket aggressively, the Aggies had success from the opening tip, building a 27-21 lead while shooting 68 percent from the field through the first 10 minutes. Cal steadied at that point as Thiemann and Askew kept them within reach, down 41-35 at the break.

Both of Cal’s leaders would go on to record career bests with Askew scoring 19, and Thiemann 17. The Cal center also contributed eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Christian Anigwe, younger brother of record-breaking Kristine Anigwe from the Cal’s women’s program, led UC Davis with 21 points.

All of the Pac-12 teams hosted non-conference opponents on opening night, and only Cal and USC suffered losses. The Trojans fell 74-61 to Florida Gulf Coast. With the loss, Mark Fox has a 35-59 record at Cal in his three plus seasons at the helm.

The Bears host Kansas State on Friday at 4pm.