LOS ANGELES-The Cal men's basketball team found a way to fight back Thursday night against USC.

But it couldn't find a way to win.

Jerome Randle nailed a jumper with 22 seconds that capped a 16-point Bears' second-half comeback and tied the game at 75-75.

But 18 seconds later, he was called for a foul on Trojans point guard Daniel Hackett on a layup with 4.3 seconds to play. Hackett calmly sank those free throws and then added two more after Randle fumbled the ensuing Bears' possession out of bounds.

The result: Four points in four seconds and a 79-75 USC win.

"I was very disappointed in myself," Randle said. "Once again, we dug a hole for ourselves and I felt like I was the reason for that down the stretch. The fouling and the losing of the ball. I was just disappointed."

Though he led the way for Cal with 18 points and two important second-half threes, the 5-foot-10 Randle uncharacteristically missed a pair of big shots late. With 1:14 to play and the Bears' trailing 72-69, Hackett fouled Randle on a three-point attempt. But the junior, an 87-percent shooter from the foul line on the year, missed two of three and the chance for a tie.

"I consider myself a great free-throw shooter and our team needed me to hit those," Randle said.

Though Randle ultimately pointed the finger at himself following the game, he was hardly the reason for the loss.

One of the biggest culprits for the Trojan win was forward Taj Gibson, who led the way with a game-high 21 points and 16 rebounds, with nine of those coming off the offensive glass. Gibson's post presence led the way for the enormous 53-27 rebounding differential (22 to nine offensive) in USC's favor.

Six-foot-seven freshman DeMar DeRozan chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds of his own. Even Hackett pulled down nine boards to go with 15 points and seven assists.

"We played with a lot of poise," Gibson said. "Guys came ready to play. Everyone rebounded the ball, especially down the stretch. And then at end of the game, we got the ball to our best free-throw shooter and he knocked them down."

The Bears were also plagued by a slow start, similar to last Saturday at Arizona State where they fell by behind by 15 at the half. On Thursday night at Staples, they trailed 13-3 four minutes into the game and by 16 at halftime, 42-26, after USC came out firing and physical.

Montgomery wasn't surprised.

"I could've told you the way (the Trojans) we're going to come out," Montgomery said. "I told the team they were going to come out with a chip on their shoulders, physical, try to manhandle us … and they did precisely that.

"Some of those times we bounced back and won games. It's just something we are going to have to figure out. I can't explain it."

Montgomery had an easier time explaining why the Bears did bounce back from the early lethargy-freshman Jorge Gutierrez. The reserve guard poured in a career-high 14 points, five assists and constant defensive energy that appeared to ignite the Cal comeback.

"He's done it over and over again when he comes in and wakes everybody up," Montgomery said. "He's a hell of a competitor and he hates to lose. He's almost in tears on the sidelines. We need more people to think like that and play like that. He motivates these other guys. They play off of him when he does that. He just gives us so much."

Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson certainly fed off of Gutierrez's energy. After being held to only three first-half points on 1-of-10 shooting, the pair combined for 25 in the second frame.

In the end, it was too little, too late.

"We need to bring the intensity that we played with in the second half from the tip," Christopher said. "We're a team that has proven we can fight back. But the most important thing is putting two halves together."

Tags: CAL MEN'S BASKETBALL, PAC-10 TOURNAMENT, MIKE MONTGOMERY