BY TODD DYBAS / SEATTLESPORTSONLINE.COM

It was there when Washington was up 57-48 with 3:51 remaining in the second half.

There when the Huskies led by three in the first overtime, 2:42 remaining.

There when Washington led by four with 12.6 seconds remaining in the second overtime.

There when Washington led by four with two minutes to go in the third overtime.

Three overtimes later, the win was gone.

Washington fell 88-85 to Cal Saturday afternoon, a triple-overtime journey in front of a full and frenzied Bank of America Arena.

The teams played 55 minutes, and Cal took the lead twice. The Bears moved out to a 1-0 lead on a free throw by Patrick Christopher. About three hours later, Cal led 86-85 after a made free throw by Theo Robertson. That was it.

But it was enough. Despite having repeated holds on the game, the Huskies could not dispose of Cal.

"We've got no one to blame but ourselves," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. "We did too many things to allow it to slip away."

The slippage began at the end of regulation. Justin Holiday made a free throw, pushing the Huskies in front by nine points wit 3:51 to play. Washington would make only one more free throw in those final minutes. A crucial defensive decision by Justin Dentmon led to a 3-pointer from Cal's Jerome Randle, which tied the game at 58. Dentmon left Randle to step to a rolling Harper Kamp, the Bears' power forward who does not look to score. When the ball was kicked out to Randle, Cal's leading scorer who shoots 52 percent from behind the arc, Dentmon sprinted to recover. Randle pump faked, Dentmon flew by, then the point guard took a rhythm dribble and calmly made the 3-pointer, his lone of the game.

Onto the first overtime. Washington pushed out to a three-point lead, but Cal's Christopher tied the game at 64 with a deep 3-pointer. Washington would not get a shot off in the final two minutes. Each team scored only six points in the allotted extra five minutes.

The second overtime was a more wide-open affair, Washington pushing the lead to five after Dentmon was fouled and converted in the lane. Dentmon would have four more free-throw attempts, but made but two. Leading by four with 11 seconds remaining, Holiday fouled Randle during a 3-point attempt. Randle hit two free throws. A Dentmon make at the line pushed the lead back to three, but a miss on his second attempt kept Cal down only one possession. Christopher air-balled a deep three, but in one motion, backup guard D.J.Seeley caught the airball and was fouled by Isaiah Thomas. Seely made the free throw with one second remaining to tie the game again.

"I missed a boxout," Thomas said. "Plain and simple."

"I would say that was probably as big a turning point as any," Cal coach Mike Montgomery said.

Washington once again expanded the lead to four points, this time in the third overtime with just more than two minutes remaining. Jon Brockman would miss two free throws in the closing minutes. Cal took its second lead of the night when Robertson made a free throw after driving right, scoring and getting fouled by Quincy Pondexter. Dentmon missed the last shot for the Huskies, attempting to jump into Christopher in the paint. The ball was tipped, then pulled in by Christopher, his 11th rebound. He hit two free throws, finishing with a game-high 27 points. Jubilation for Cal, dejection for Washington.

"There were probably five different occasions where each team could say, 'Oh, we lost. Oh, we won,' " Montgomery said. "It was one of those games where they had several opportunities to put it away, didn't. We got in the driver's seat a time or two, didn't (put it away). It's kind of a war of attrition."

"Are we all disappointed? Am I disappointed, frustrated tonight? Yes," Romar said. "About 2:30 this morning when I throw a banana or something at the TV when I'm looking at the film, I'll be frustrated again."

Washington led by as many as 11. It turned the ball over only 14 times in 55 minutes of grinding play. Had more steals, more blocks, more assists, more free throws made.

But it was outrebounded. Missed 13 free throws, Brockman going 2-for-8 from the free-throw line, the team a woeful 10-for-18 in the second half of regulation when 11-for-18 would have gotten them a win.

After holding Cal to 31 percent shooting in the first half, Washington allowed the Bears to shoot 43 percent in the second half. Montgomery adjusted his lineup, sacrificing size for dribbling ability and space. New lanes to the basket opened up, cracks becoming wide gaps against the Huskies' extended man-to-man defense.

"We had no choice because of their pressure," Montgomery said.

It worked, particularly in overtime when Cal shot 53 percent.

It's a reset for the Huskies (11-4, 2-1). Gone is a nine-game winning streak, an unblemished Pac-10 record and a likely spot in the top 25 come Monday. Here is a challenge to the their psyche.

"You can allow something like this to sink into a tailspin the wrong way," Romar said. "We definitely don't want that to happen. We've worked too hard to allow that to happen. It's too early in the conference season to allow that to happen."

Notes: Detlef Schrempf was in attendance Saturday, seated near the Huskies' bench. ... Lenny Wilkens was honored at halftime as part of his induction to the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame. ... After having "MBA" sheered into the right side of his head Thursday, Matthew Bryan-Amaning sported a bald look Saturday.

Todd Dybas is the editor of Seattlesportsonline.com. He can be reached via e-mail at tdybas@seattlesportsonline.com