McNeese State coach Dave Simmons saw plenty of progress in his team against No. 24 California on Monday night.
Granted, the Cowboys lost by 16 points and flew back home with a .500 record.
Simmons, though, had several reasons to smile. McNeese State controlled the tempo and had the lead against the Golden Bears for most of the first half, then cut an 18-point lead in the second half to eight late in the game before Cal pulled away?.
Call it baby steps forward for the young Cowboys.
''I felt like we grew up as a team tonight,'' Simmons said following McNeese State's 73-57 loss to the Bears. ''This was a trip we knew was going to be very difficult, but the kids met the challenge.''
McNeese State's 2-3 zone gave Cal fits, and the small school from Louisiana sucked all the energy out of an already quiet - and half-empty - Haas Pavilion for what was supposed to be a tune-up test for the home team.
Instead, it almost became an upset.
The Cowboys opened with an 8-2 lead capped by Dontae Cannon's jumper, diving for loose balls and running into the stands at one point to save a steal. Not until Harper Kamp's jumper more than 7 minutes into the half did Cal take its first lead at 10-8.
''The fact is, we knew more about them and we were more of an unknown to their kids,'' Simmons said of his team's fast start. ''That may have been an advantage to us.''
McNeese State regained the lead and held firm until the buzzer when the Bears' Allen Crabbe hit a 3-pointer. After that, it was all Cal.
Patrick Richard had 18 points and Cannon scored 15 for the Cowboys (3-3), going 1-1 on a rare West Coast trip. The defending Southland Conference champions beat Sacramento State two days earlier after trailing by 17 at halftime.
''For us to come in here against a top 20 team and play with all our heart, I think we improved,'' Richard said.
''They were a little deeper than us and might have worn us out a little bit. They adjusted to the zone we were in and started getting open looks. In the first half they weren't getting those looks.''
Jorge Gutierrez scored a season-high 26 points to go with six rebounds and five assists for Cal, which matched its best start under coach Mike Montgomery.
Crabbe had 20 points and six rebounds and Harper Kamp scored 10 for the Bears (6-1), who shot 62.5 percent in the second half. Cal also started 6-1 in Montgomery's first year in 2008.
The Bears stumbled at the start with a rare lack of hustle against an overmatched opponent.
With the clock ticking down before the break, Gutierrez snatched a defensive rebound and sprinted up court, almost losing his balance until flinging a pass from behind his head at half court to Crabbe on the wing. Crabbe rose up near the Cowboys bench and sunk a 3-pointer as time expired, giving the Bears a 28-26 halftime lead and bringing fans to their feet in the loudest ovation of the night.
Everything reverted to form from there.
''I just didn't think we were prepared ... and it showed,'' Montgomery said. ''We were a little bit disorganized as far as running our fastbreak. We turned the ball over when we should have had buckets.''
The Bears bolted out on a 10-2 run in the second half highlighted by Richard Solomon's three-point play, converting a layup as he was fouled by Cannon. After Cal went ahead 55-37, the Cowboys sliced the deficit to 57-49 on Richard's 3-pointer with 7:54 remaining before the Bears took control again.
McNeese State flew to the West Coast to complete a home-and-home agreement with Sacramento State, where the Cowboys gave Simmons his 100th career coaching victory two days earlier. McNeese State overcame a 17-point halftime deficit before rallying for a 68-63 victory at Sacramento State.
The finish at Berkeley had far less drama.
