Cal Downs Denver, 80-59

Box Score

BERKELEY, Calif. - The University of Denver men's basketball team fell 80-59 to the No. 18 California Bears at Haas Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.

"That's a very good Cal team," head coach Joe Scott said. "They beat us as a team today and made us play individually on both ends of the court. That's what good teams do."

The Pioneers (4-1) shot 44.9 percent from the field (22-of-49) and hit just 28.0 percent (7-of-25) three-point attempts. The Golden Bears (5-1) hit 52.0 percent (26-of-50) from the field and a scorching 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from three-point range. Cal out-rebounded Denver 33-20.

Sophomore forward Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas) led DU with nine points and a career-high six assists, while senior guard Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) had five points and five assists.

In his first career game, freshman guard Cam Griffin (San Antonio, Texas) had four points, two assists and two steals in only 11 minutes. Freshman guard Brett Olson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) had a career-high eight points

The Golden Bears opened the second half with a 10-3 run that stretched their lead to as many as 30 points with 7:41 remaining.

Cal jumped out quickly on an 8-0 run before Stafford scored on a finger roll with 13:58 remaining in the half. DU clawed back to within four points on a three-pointer by senior guard Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas), but the Golden Bears responded with another 8-0 run and stretched the lead to 38-22 at the half.

The loss snaps Denver's 4-game winning streak, the team's best start since opening 7-0 in 1996-97 when the Pioneers were NCAA Division II.

Denver remains on the road with a matchup against Utah State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT. The game will air on ESPN Full Court and ESPN3.com, as well as on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510 or FM 93.7, and fans can follow a live blog on DenverPioneers.com.

Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at DenverPioneers.com or by calling the Pioneer Basketball Season Ticket Hotline at 303-871-HOOP.

Men's basketball individual game tickets range from $9-$15. Single-game tickets may be purchased in person at the Ritchie Center Box Office, by phone at 303-871-2336 or online at DenverPioneers.com. DU students are admitted to all Denver men's and women's basketball games FREE with their Pioneer Card.