Cal Men's Basketball Drop Season Opener, 65-75, Against UC Davis

Golden Bears lose their first game ever to the Aggies

California junior guard Devin Askew scored a team-high 19 points against UC Davis. (Courtesy: CK Hicks via Cal Athletics)

It might be a long season for California men’s basketball fans.

The California Golden Bears (0-1) lost their first-ever game against the UC Davis Aggies (1-0), 65-75, ending a perfect 33-0 streak dating back to the 1917-1918 season.

The Golden Bears, trailing most of the game, gave up a brutal 11-0 run to the Aggies late in the second half, which sealed their fate.

The defeat comes despite the best efforts of California's pro-am duo, senior Lars Thiemann and junior transfer Devin Askew. The pair contributed more than half of the Golden Bears’ points together.

Askew posted a team-high 19 points in his regular-season debut against UC Davis. The guard added four assists and three rebounds.

The Sacramento, Calif., native is one to watch. The California transfer started his college basketball career with the Kentucky Wildcats, scoring 163 points in 25 games and averaging 6.5 points, 2.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. Askew then transferred to Texas before making his way to Berkeley, Calif.

Meanwhile, Thiemann, who had a double-double in last week's 62-55 exhibition win against Chico State, scored 17 points and added eight rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist.

California will need to shoot better than the 38% against UC Davis on Friday when it faces off against the Kansas State Wildcats. The Wildcats won its game Monday with a jaw-dropping 93-59 result against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros.

In the pre-season, the media picked the California Golden Bears to finish 11th, Coach Mark Fox’s fifth-straight season receiving a bottom-three "honor.”