By Morris Phillips

Marsalis Roberson, like a lot of his teammates, hasn’t had the impact on the Cal basketball program his coaches and fans had hoped for. In seven game appearances in this his sophomore season, all with double-digit minutes off the bench, Roberson had scored just 13 points.

But with Cal enjoying as much of a breakout performance as any in their season-opening streak of nine losses, the 6’6″ forward attempted a full-flight, soaring dunk on 7’0″ Oumar Ballo, Arizona’s ascendant center, a legitimate NBA prospect, and not a dude to back down from a challenge.

Just how did that go, Marsalis–with Cal trailing by 51-39 early in the second half and looking to make a move?

Not well, but the attitude was spot on. Right now, Cal needs as much of that as they can muster and then some. Mark Fox noticed, and on Sunday afternoon in the desert, the team’s embattled coach was encouraged by Roberson, and an 81-68 loss that was far less lopsided than anyone could have imagined.

“We made one less basket than Arizona made. They just murdered us at the foul line,” said Fox, eluding to a disparity of 18 free throw attempts between the two teams. “We’ve played really hard. We’ve had some challenges just trying to get enough healthy guys on the floor to build a cohesive team.”

The Bears are still without Jalen Celestine and DeJuan Clayton, absences that continue to leave the team’s bench thin in versatility and production. One minute before Roberson had his bold, dunk attempt thrown by Ballo, the Oakland native cut Cal’s deficit to 10 with a short jump shot. But that was the only two points Cal’s bench scored all afternoon–after they went scoreless in Wednesday’s home loss to USC.

That lack of bench production didn’t diminish the scoring of Lars Thiemann, Kuany Kuany and Devin Askew, who combined for 54 of Cal’s 68 points on better than 50 percent shooting. But again, Askew was spent after 35 minutes of battling taller Wildcats, who came in greater numbers. Consequently, the visitors didn’t finish well. After getting as close as 59-52 with 10:51 remaining, Cal never got closer.

“I thought we kept the game where we needed to until that little spurt,” Fox said of his squad’s lethargic finish.

Azoulas Tubelis led Arizona with 25 points. Ballo was just as impressive with 17 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks. The Wildcats’ perimeter game wasn’t as complimentary, missing 16 of 20 attempts from distance, which allowed Cal to hang around.

Arizona enjoyed an 8-2 run in the closing minutes before the half to lead 42-30, but Cal got a kind whistle, and three made free throws from Askew pulled Cal within 42-33 at the break.

“I knew (Cal was) going to come in here and fight,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “I knew it was going to be a grindy game.”

The Bears are 0-9 for the first time ever. Eastern Washington visits Haas Pavilion on Wednesday as Cal needs a win to avoid the worst start by a team in the Power 5 Era, dating back to 1975.