Sacramento State fell to 1-4 on the season and dropped its fourth-straight game to the California Golden Bears in Berkeley on Sunday.

The Hornets were within striking distance for portions of the game, including a late-game run that cut the Bears’ 15-point lead to five, but ultimately ended with an 83-77 loss.

Plethora of fouls made it difficult to compete

Sac State committed a season-high 31 fouls at Haas Pavilion, resulting in 39 free throw attempts for the Bears. By the end of the game, four players fouled out and two were on the brink of disqualification with four fouls.

“I nearly had to sub in at the end, I didn’t know who else was going to play,” Sac State head coach Michael Czepil said. “We want our guys to be physical and aggressive, but you have to do that while taking into consideration that you can’t foul.”

Czepil said a driving factor in the amount of fouls was being out of position defensively and having to compensate.

So far this season, Cal has generated a lot of its offense through the pick and roll. The Hornets defended that well, but the Bears countered by attacking gaps in the defense with dribble drives and that put stress on Sac State.

“I think it just all boils down to our habits and being disciplined with our game plan,” junior guard Julian Vaughns said. “Sometimes you’re trying to make the right play but you could be a little overly aggressive.”

The Hornets gave the Bears multiple and-one looks at the line on two-point attempts and fouled a three-point shooter on three separate occasions. Of Cal’s 39 attempts at the line and buried 25.

Rotations look unrecognizable for the first time

For the first four games of the season Sac State rolled out the same starting lineup. Against the Bears, freshman guard Lachlan Brewer and Vaughns made their first appearance in the starting five.

Brewer didn’t log any minutes in the Hornets’ last game, so seeing him on the court to start came as a surprise. Czepil said sophomore guard Alex Kovatchev was slated to start, as he had all season, but injured his ankle during warmups. Vaughns started in his place.

Junior guard Deonte Williams saw his first action since the Hornets’ home-opener, logging the most minutes off the bench at 20 and posting a career-high seven points. Junior forward Jalen Pitre, who had started every game for Sac State so far, was a healthy scratch.

Amid these changes, the Hornets posted their highest point total of the season against a Division I opponent with 77. Czepil said having an extra ball handler on the floor was a factor behind the decision and it made a difference by opening up more avenues for the offense.

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Vaughns and Holt lead a scoring charge in need of help

Vaughns and senior forward Jacob Holt combined for 30 of the Hornets’ 44 second-half points. Senior guard EJ Neal contributed 11 points, but they all came under the five-minute mark. Up until then, only one basket was scored by someone other than Vaughns and Holt in the second half.

Holt posted a career-high in points for the second game in a row with 25 and Vaughns had a career-best 18 points. Neal also had a career game with 16 points.

Those three have emerged as the Hornets’ go-to scorers early in the season, with Holt at the forefront. After scoring less than 60 points in its first two Division I games this season, Sac State has eclipsed that mark in back-to-back games.

Beside Holt, Neal and Vaughns, no other player is averaging double-digit scoring on the season. To continue their offensive ascension, they may need another Hornet or two to step up in the scoring department.

Sac State not able to play ‘a full 40’

A profound theme in the midst of Sac State’s four-game losing skid has been its inability to put together a full game, and that rang true on Sunday.

The Hornets had good starts to each half, leading 10-5 just over four minutes into play before enduring a 24-10 run by the Bears. Sac State started the second half with a 13-5 run and regained the lead before allowing Cal to reach a 15-point lead, their largest of the game.

Cal attacked the Sac State defense with force and put pressure on them with straight-line drives to the basket, leading to frequent trips to the foul line.

“I think we have to play a complete 40-minute game,” Holt said. “I think other times we’ve played a good 30 and then there’s a bad 10-minute stretch.”

Sac State won the second half, 44-43, which is the second time they’ve outscored a team in the latter half, only for them to fall short because of a lacking first half.

The Hornets will look to regroup when they travel to Colorado on Wednesday to face off with Air Force at 1 p.m. in the second of three Cal Classic games.