LOS ANGELES – After a gritty win over No. 9-ranked Pepperdine pushed the No. 1 Cal men's water polo team into the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Invitational, the Bears went right to the end with No. 4 UCLA but couldn't pull out a win as they dropped a 9-8 decision to wrap up the day at USC.

With Saturday's results, Cal (10-1) moves into Sunday's third-place match at USC. The Bears will play either No. 2 USC or No. 3 Stanford at 1 p.m.

UCLA 9, Cal 8 (2 OT)

A late goal by Johnny Hooper forced overtime but UCLA took the lead in the first overtime and held onto it despite a Cal charge as the Bruins escaped with the win on Saturday evening.

After going back and forth on the scoreboard throughout the match, Cal used a critical goal from Hooper to extend the match. Luca Cupido created the chance, earning a penalty shot with an exclusion on Nicolas Saveljic, and Hooper converted to tie the score at 6 with 1:20 left in regulation.

Cupido put the Bears in front to start overtime, finding the net with 2:41 left in the first extra period to make it 7-6 Cal. UCLA scored the next two goals though, taking an 8-7 lead after three minutes of OT.

Jack Grover added to the UCLA advantage in the second overtime period, scoring with 2:32 left to make it 9-7 Bruins. Cupido gave the Bears another chance with 1:02 left, scoring an even-strength goal to make it 9-8, but even though Cal got one final chance at tying the score, it couldn't get a shot off and time expired with UCLA on top.

Goalkeeper Kevin Le Vine had his best match of the season when it came to save totals as the senior stopped 17 shots to keep Cal within reach. Cupido led Cal in the goal department with four while Vassilis Tzavaras scored two and Hooper and Masmanidis each tallied one.

Cal 12, Pepperdine 10

Another back-and-forth battle between the Bears and Waves swung in favor of Cal late as a strong finish to the third period provided an advantage that held to the end of the match.

Tied at 9 late in the third period, Cal took a slim lead just before the fourth began. A goal by Safak Simsek with 2:44 left put the Bears up 10-9 and Tzavaras added to that margin with 50 seconds left, finding the range to make it 11-9 as the period ended.

Pepperdine narrowed the gap on a goal by Marko Asic with 4:05 left to play but Cupido gave Cal the insurance goal it needed, scoring with 3:16 left to make it 12-10. That was where the score stayed until the end as a last-ditch effort by Asic got blocked by freshman Ethan Wojciechowski to preserve the two-goal victory.

Masmanidis led the way for the Bears on the scoresheet, finishing with a season-high four goals in the win. Cupido, Simsek and Johnny Hooper each scored two while Tzavaras and Nicholas Carniglia added one apiece. Le Vine got the call in the cage and made eight saves to go with one steal.