With Monday's win, Cal begins the season 4-0 for the fourth time in last five seasons and the first time under head coach Cuonzo Martin. Martin became the first Cal coach to start each of his first two seasons 3-0 with last week's win over East Carolina.

Cal held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting for the fourth time this season with Sam Houston State finishing at 37 percent (26 for 70).

The Bears played to their season average in rebounding margin with a 46-31 advantage on the boards on Monday. Cal entered the game plus-15 in that category.

Tyrone Wallace moved into the top 20 on Cal's career scoring list, passing David Kravish (2012-15), and now ranks No. 20 with 1,277 career points after finishing with 17 points. Dave Butler (1983-87) is 19th with 1,291. Wallace also finished with a season-high seven rebounds.

Jaylen Brown scored a career-high 18 points and notched his second straight double-double with a career-high 11 rebounds. The freshman from Georgia came close to accomplishing it in the first half alone, finishing with eight points and 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. The Marrieta, Ga. native also had career highs in steals (2) and assists (4).

With three on Monday, freshman Ivan Rabb has collected multiple blocks in all four of Cal's games and now has 12 this season.

Jordan Mathews went 3 for 3 from beyond the arc and scored a season-high 18 points. Mathews now has 121 career 3-pointers and continues to close in on 10th place on Cal's career list (139, Shantay Legans, 2000-02).

Four or more Bears (Brown, Wallace, Mathews, Jabari Bird) scored in double figures for the fourth time this season.

Sam Houston State opened the game on a 7-0 run before Cal scored the next 10 points to take its first lead of the night. At one point in the first half, the Bearkats missed 12 shots in a row.

Guards Brandon Chauca and Nick Hamilton and forward Cole Welle each appeared in a game for the first time this season.

Monday's matchup was the first between Cal and Sam Houston State.

Attendance was 8,492.

The game was Cal's second as part of the Las Vegas Invitational and the final game in the Bears' four-game homestand to open the season. Cal defeated East Carolina last week as part of the tournament and will travel to Las Vegas later this week to take on San Diego State and either West Virginia or Richmond.