In front of 11,858 spectators in its second-to-last game at Haas Pavilion, the Cal men’s basketball team (20-8, 10-5 Pac-12) solidified their claim to a bid to the Big Dance.

The Bears, now the owners of a six-game winning streak — their longest of the season — took care of UCLA (15-13, 6-9) on Thursday night, 75-63, maintaining their pristine 17-0 home record.

Cal began the first half on a frantic 13-1 run, forcing the desperate Bruins to call an early timeout. But by then, freshman phenom Jaylen Brown already had eight points to his name, while being perfect from the field and from the line.

UCLA, on the other hand, didn’t record its first bucket until nearly five minutes in, when a jumper from guard Isaac Hamilton temporarily stopped the bleeding. The Bruins, battling an airtight Cal defense, struggled to find room against the Bears, watching as run-of-the-mill hook shots met Ivan Rabb’s hands at the rim.

In an attempt to slow down Cal’s buzzing offense, UCLA flirted with the zone — chronically unsolvable for the Bears — after the timeout and found temporary success. The Bruins rattled off a quick 8-1 run, while Cal was one of eight from the floor in the same span, until a corner three from guard Jabari Bird brought the Bears back on track.

With just more than seven minutes to play in the first period, the Bears found themselves with a 20-14 lead and 11 points off of UCLA’s four turnovers, despite shooting 29 percent from the field. But Cal’s early offensive rhythm seemed long gone, as the Bruins scored seven straight points to cut the lead to five with just over two minutes left in the half. Thankfully for Cal, a crucial free throw from Rabb and an off-hand floater from guard Tyrone Wallace gave the Bears some breathing room and a 33-25 lead heading into halftime.

The second half kicked off in nearly identical fashion to the first, with Cal scoring the first six points to take a 14-point lead and UCLA turning to the zone in response, though the Bears fared better this time around. Cal’s defense, however, proved to be more porous than in the first half, as UCLA began 7-11 from the field. Despite allowing more points in the paint, the Bears sustained their strong perimeter defense in the second half, holding UCLA to 2-9 from distance on the game.

“That was my biggest concern going in, how well (the Bruins) shoot from the field,” said Cal head coach Cuonzo Martin. “I thought our guys did a great job defending the three point line.”

Despite scoring with relative ease against an inconsistent UCLA defense, the Bears would’ve likely enjoyed a larger, more comfortable lead if not for their struggles from the line. Wallace missed two straight with nine minutes and three seconds left to play, bringing Cal’s total to 8-19 on the night. Those misses nearly proved fatal down the line, as UCLA cut the lead to four in the next three minutes.

The Bears, though straddling a single-digit lead for most of the remaining minutes, continued to push the pace, outlasting an undeniably tired Bruins squad en route to the impressive final score.

“We’re tightening up the screws. Every little thing, we have to be better at,” Martin said.

Michelle Lee covers men’s basketball. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @michelle_e_lee.