During the Cougars' 93-88 loss at the hand of the California Golden Bears (11-5, 3-1), it was apparent Thursday night which team had five seniors on their roster while the other had only one. This brings the Cougars' record to (12-5, 2-3). Cal’s experience and senior leadership was painted clearly throughout the game.

California's senior Jerome Randle put on an offensive clinic by pouring down a career best 39 points off of 11-18 shooting from the floor, including 7-12 from beyond the arc.

"He’s a great player, probably the reason why he played 40 minutes,” Head Coach Ken Bone said. "Coach (Mike) Montgomery understands how valuable he is to have on the court.” After the first few minutes, it appeared as if the Golden Bears we’re going to route the young Cougars after opening up to a 28-8 lead with just a bit more than 11 minutes left. "They set the tone for themselves in the first eight minutes," Bone said. "That’s where the game was won or lost – I think.” With California being in a zone throughout the majority of the half, WSU was forced to focus on its perimeter game rather than going down low to sophomore forward DeAngelo Casto, who was limited to only 2 points off three shot attempts in the first half. Casto finished the game with 6 points.

"It was tough to see the Cougs come out and play that way,” junior business major Griffin Jones said. "The team showed a lot of moxy and a whole lot of spunk to battle back, but that early deficit definitely killed us.” Despite the slow start, WSU caught fire and shot 50 percent from the floor for the rest of the first half. Perhaps one of the biggest shots made was by freshman guard Reggie Moore, who knocked down a three-point rainbow over Cal's Randle to bring WSU within 41-37 to close out the half.

Moore had reached double figures already in the first half with 10 points. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears had seniors Randle and Theo Robertson with 11 to lead all scorers, and fellow senior Jamal Boykin with 10. Boykin finished with 16 points, and Robertson ended up with 13. California shot 53.1 percent off 17-32 shooting in the first half. The Golden Bears also got a good performance from senior Patrick Christopher who ended the night with 21 points.

In the second half, California continued to build its lead with Randle continuing to bank lights-out shots.

"Will someone check for a magnet on that damn ball,” screamed a student from the WSU student section.

Randle knocked down a three pointer with about eight minutes left to put the Golden Bears up by 15, which was their largest lead of the second half.

WSU continued to fight but could only manage to pull within five with 15 seconds left. The Cougars suffered their third conference loss of the season.

"They’re a very good basketball team with a lot of seniors, and I think one of them will end up in the NBA,” Bone said about California. "Their coach does a good job. They’ve got a great program.” Moore had a career night for the Cougars with 25 points off of 7-14 shooting from the floor. On the other hand, sophomore guard Klay Thompson struggled for the second consecutive game by scoring 18 points off 6-16 shooting and only making 2-10 three-point attempts.

Next up for WSU will be a 2 p.m. Saturday showdown against the Stanford Cardinal at Friel Court.