WOLLONGONG, Australia - After winning the first three of a four-game exhibition tour in Australia, the California Golden Bears men's basketball team fell to the Illawara Hawks, an Australian National Basketball League team, 110-99, in an overtime thriller in Wollongong, New South Wales on Friday.

The Bears fell behind 20-4 early and 36-19 by the end of the first quarter, but proceeded to mount a ferocious comeback in the hostile Wollongong arena known as “The Snakepit.” The team's surging effort enabled it to ultimately overcome a 17-point deficit to force a tie then grab the lead in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter on a clutch basket from senior point guard Tyrone Wallace. A late foul called on the Bears in the final two seconds sent the Hawks to the free throw line, where the home team capitalized and sent the game into overtime.

The Bears' comeback effort was hampered significantly as they entered the overtime period with four of their five starters on the bench after fouling out.

Junior guard Jordan Mathews scored 24 points, junior Jabari Bird added 17 points and Wallace had 14 points and six assists. Freshman Ivan Rabb notched his third double-double of the trip with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman Jaylen Brown dropped in 19 points.

Following the game, Brown spoke with the Aussie commentators covering the game and talked about the team's performance against a veteran professional squad.

“It was a good test for us,” Brown said. “The Australian team was really good. There's no reason for us to hang our heads. I think we did pretty well.”

The Bears fell behind 20-4 in the first quarter thanks largely in part to six straight three pointers from the Hawks. The squad from Wollongong led 36-19 at the end of the first quarter. Cal then fought back, proceeding to outscore its opponent in the next three quarters.

“These guys are pros, grown men,” Brown continued. “It was great for us getting this experience. We didn't come here to win games by 20 or 30 points. We came here to be tested.”

Sharing his thoughts on their performance, Cal coach Cuonzo Martin said, “I feel like our guys did a great job battling back in a tremendous environment. That is a very physical and experienced professional basketball team. They showed us a lot of different things on offense and mixed up some things defensively. We had to make a lot of adjustments throughout the game. I thought we did a great job fighting through that and battling back in the game.

"We made some plays down the stretch but unfortunately came up short, but it was a very competitive basketball game. I told our guys after the game that they will see the benefits from a game like this in February and March.”

Martin concluded his remarks reflecting on their growth during the week Down Under.

“I thought we got everything we wanted to get out of the trip except four wins,” he said. “We competed, we played hard, we played together, we defended, we worked hard, we dove on the floor, and we rebounded. Overall I thought we played as one and we played with energy and passion.”

The Bears will return to Berkeley for the start of the fall semester next week.