SPOKANE, Wash. – A short-handed Cal team gave a valiant effort in its opening-round game of the NCAA Tournament, but the Golden Bears weren't able to overcome the loss of two starters and fell to Hawaii, 77-66, Friday at the Spokane Arena.

After earning a No. 4 seed – Cal's highest ever – following a 23-10 regular-season, the Bears lost senior Tyrone Wallace to a broken bone in his right hand Wednesday. Then about 90 seconds before tipoff, head coach Cuonzo Martin learned that junior Jabari Bird would not be able to do after he suffered back spasms in warmups.

Bird returned to the locker room for treatment, but was unable to go and watched the second half from the Cal bench.

Quincy Smith scored a career-high with 19 points, Roderick Bobbitt had 17 points and Stefan Jankovic 16 for Hawaii (28-5). Smith scored 11 points in the second half and keyed Hawaii's surge midway through after California had pulled within one.

Jordan Mathews, starting for Bird, led Cal with 23 points.

Considering the absences, Cal needed its healthy stars to be at their best. Jaylen Brown, though, fouled out with four points and two rebounds in 17 minutes. Ivan Rabb contributed 13 points and 12 boards – his team-leading 11th double-double of the year. The Bears were just 3 of 19 on 3-pointers, all coming from Mathews.

Hawaii's ability to withstand Cal's second half surges was more impressive considering Jankovic spent nearly 13 minutes on the bench. Jankovic checked out with 16:41 remaining and the Warriors leading by eight after picking up his third and fourth fouls 20 seconds apart. When he returned with 3:46 remaining, the Warriors had possession leading 66-60.

Smith was a big reason why Hawaii was able to keep Jankovic on the bench for so long. Smith scored eight of Hawaii's 15 points during a 6 1/2 minute stretch where the Warriors built their lead back to as many as 11 after the Bears pulled to 47-46 on Kameron Rooks' three-point play with 11:56 left. .

The Associated Press contributed to this report.