LOS ANGELES — The Cal men’s basketball team earned a rare victory at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday afternoon, withstanding a second-half run from the Bruins for a 72-58 win.

The Bears split each weekend of their four-game road trip, going 2-2. They improve to 7-4 in conference play.

Full recap to follow at www.dailycal.org/sports.

LOS ANGELES — The Cal men’s basketball team is holding on after letting UCLA creep back into it. The Bruins made it 48-45 on a free throw, but the Bears have regained control with five minutes left in the game.

SCORE: Cal 62, UCLA 50

It feels like the Bruins have one more push, but the Bears are moving the ball on offense and containing fairly well on defense.

LOS ANGELES — Nothing was going right for the Cal men’s basketball team in the first 10 minutes of play against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The Bears trailed, 24-11, they were turning the ball over on a regular basis, and they had no answers on defense for Bruins guard Michael Roll.

Then, all of a sudden, Cal was back in it. Coach Mike Montgomery’s squad closed the first half on a 26-6 run. Senior forward Theo Robertson has a team-high 12 points, point guard Jerome Randle has nine and the Bears have to feel good about their response to such a poor start.

SCORE: Cal 37, UCLA 30

The Bears have a big man? Yes, apparently they do. Markhuri Sanders-Frison entered the game for senior Jamal Boykin and really seemed to give Cal a boost. His presence inside made the Bruins’ zone collapse, and he even put his offensive skills to use on a smooth turnaround hook in the lane. His rebounding ability has also come in handy.

Stat of the half: Against a zone, three-point shooting is key. So far, the Bears have made seven of their 14 attempts from beyond the arc. If they can keep up a 50-percent rate, they should be fine at the offensive end.

Notables: Roll has a team-high 12 points and three assists … Both teams are shooting above 50 percent from the field through 20 minutes of play.

Look elsewhere for a prediction, because anything can happen in Pac-10 basketball.

LOS ANGELES — The Cal men’s basketball team is off to a slow start at Pauley Pavilion, where UCLA has taken a 9-3 lead with 15:55 left in the first half. As expected, the Bruins’ zone is giving the Bears trouble. Cal’s only basket was a wide-open three-pointer by Theo Robertson.

What you should know about today’s game:

• In the teams’ first meeting this season, UCLA beat the Bears in overtime at Haas Pavilion. Bruins guard Michael Roll hit the game-winner to give his team a 76-75 victory.
• Cal is 7-37 all-time at Pauley Pavilion. Enough said.
• Zone defenses have given the Bears fits all season.

We’re seven minutes into the game, and Cal has just two field goals.

SCORE: UCLA 17, Cal 8

The Cal men’s basketball team was 1-2 in conference games decided by four points or fewer entering Thursday night’s game against USC.

Now, the Bears are 1-3.

They lost to the Trojans, 66-63, at Galen Center in Los Angeles to start the second half of Pac-10 play.

Full recap to follow at www.dailycal.org/sports.

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Theo Robertson is at the line for one more shot after missing the first. USC is ahead, 62-60, with 10 seconds left in the game. Moments earlier, he hit a huge three-pointer from the right wing.

Robertson makes the second, 62-61 USC.

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Jerome Randle is at the charity stripe for three free throws after being fouled on a jumper from the right wing. After missing two in a row earlier in the game — he’s a 93-percent shooter at the line — he makes all three to tie the game at 50-50 with 5:34 remaining.

Another close Pac-10 game on the road — what a surprise.

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Jamal Boykin replaces Markhuri Sanders-Frison, who picked up his third foul with 10:07 remaining in the game.

Theo Robertson is called for charging, and it’s been that kind of night for the senior forward. He had one point and three turnovers in the first half.

A hustle play by Jorge Gutierrez leads to a basket for the Bears, cutting USC’s lead to 47-44.

Dwight Lewis drives baseline on Patrick Christopher, drawing the foul. He makes the score 48-44 in favor of the Trojans with 8:51 left in the game, then Alex Stepheson scores on a putback.

SCORE: USC 50, Cal 44

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Jorge Gutierrez is at the line for one free throw after getting fouled on a fast-break layup. It’s good.

SCORE: USC 46, Cal 41

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The Bears led 30-17 midway through the first half, but they’re stuck at 30. And I mean stuck.

USC put together a 25-0 run spanning both halves, including a 15-0 surge to start the second half.

SCORE: USC 42, Cal 30

Jerome Randle didn’t like it. He hit back-to-back three-pointers (for the second time in the game) to cut the Trojans’ lead in half.

Right when it looked like USC had taken complete command of the game, Randle brought Galen Center back to Earth.

Jerome Randle seems to be playing with some extra energy, a good sign for the Cal men’s basketball team considering the senior point guard’s nagging knee injury.

He has a game-high 12 points in the opening half, six of which came on back-to-back three-pointers. He’s put his crossover to use, getting to the basket and finding open teammates either underneath or on the perimeter.

Each team had relatively long scoring droughts, and the Bears are ahead by three point after leading by as many as 13. The Trojans closed the half on a 10-0 surge thanks to several Bears’ turnovers.

SCORE: Cal 30, USC 27

Notables: Bears center Markhuri Sanders-Frison returned to action after missing several games with a sore back, but played limited minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls … Cal showed what looked like a zone defense for parts of the opening frame … Shooting guard Patrick Christopher has nine points on nine shots … Senior forward Jamal Boykin has knocked down several mid-range jumpers, adding six points.

Stat of the half: Turnovers. USC has 13. The Bears have six.

Considering how well it played to start the first half, it seems Cal should be ahead by more than three points. But the Bears didn’t close the half on a strong note.

Dwight Lewis ties the game at 30-30 on the first basket of the second half. Stay tuned.

Dwight Lewis cut the Bears’ lead to one at 18-17, but USC hasn’t scored since. Cal is on a 9-0 run, giving itself a 10-point lead with 6:57 left in the first half.

SCORE: Cal 27, USC 17

Make that a 12-0 run. Point guard Jerome Randle has hit back-to-back three-pointers.

The Bears scored 67 points in their home win over the Trojans, but they’re on pace for 80 on the road.

The Cal men’s basketball team looks very relaxed to start the game against USC at Galen Center in Los Angeles.

In a good way.

The Bears are moving the ball with ease, as evidenced by a give-and-go play that ended in a layup for Patrick Christopher. They’re ahead by seven points about four minutes into the first half.

SCORE: Cal 10, USC 3

It’s also worth noting that Jerome Randle, who said Wednesday that he isn’t 100-percent healthy (sore knee), has a bounce to his step in the early going.

After a turnover on an in-bounds play with 14.5 seconds left, the Cal men’s basketball team fouled Arizona point guard Nic Wise and watched as he sank both free throws to give the Wildcats a four-point lead with 10.7 seconds left.

Jerome Randle misses a long three-point attempt, Arizona secured the rebound, and the Wildcats earned their sixth Pac-10  victory.

FINAL: Arizona 76, Cal 72

The Bears have never swept the Arizona schools on the road, but they had opportunities late in the game.

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Jerome Randle sinks three free throws with 40.4 seconds left in the game, the crowd roaring and the score 72-71 in favor of Cal. Then, Nic Wise is fouled by Randle on a layup, and he converts to give the Wildcats a 74-72 advantage with 26.3 seconds left.

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With 2:41 left in the game, the Cal men’s basketball team leads Arizona by two points at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz.

Theo Robertson is having a monster game, leading all scorers with 27 points. However, he just picked up his fourth foul.

SCORE: Cal 69, Arizona 67

As you can imagine, the atmosphere is electric.

In less than two minutes, the Cal men’s basketball team surrendered seven consecutive points to Arizona.

SCORE: Arizona 39, Cal 34

The Bears have not scored in the second frame, as Patrick Christopher’s three-pointer goes in and out. Omondi Amoke misses both free throws after being fouled. Theo Robertson misses a jumper badly.

Oh, and McKale Center is loud.