The Washington Huskies closed out 2004 — among the most memorable years for men's basketball the school has ever seen — by briefly recalling its beginning.

It was last January, remember, when the Huskies embarked on their basketball revival with a series of come-from-behind wins, each one building just a little more of the foundation that has Washington where it is today — regarded in many circles as the favorite to win the Pac-10 title.

Washington eventually took its first step toward winning that conference crown before a sellout crowd of 10,000 at Edmundson Pavilion yesterday afternoon, beating the California Golden Bears 81-67 in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

But not before jumping out to a 16-point first-half lead, then losing it all and seeing Cal take a three-point lead on three occasions in the second half.

During a timeout with 10:07 left in the game and the Huskies down three, UW senior guard Will Conroy asked his teammates to remember their past.

"Let's not forget where we came from," Conroy shouted in the huddle. "How many times last year did we have to come back?"

Conroy then let his actions do the talking, leading UW (11-1) on a 24-7 run the last 9:20 of the game to put away a surprisingly stubborn Bears team, which has just eight healthy scholarship players and is generally picked to finish near the bottom of the Pac-10.

UW coach Lorenzo Romar said Cal (7-4) deserved credit for getting back in the game. But he also said his team deserved just as much credit for getting the win. He hopes, though, that his team learns from what happened.

And what would that lesson be?

The problem, apparently, was that the Huskies thought the game was over when they used three-pointers — they hit seven of their first 10 in the first half — to key a 30-14 run that gave them a 41-25 lead with 2:24 left. It was the kind of run the Huskies have used most of the year to turn games into laughers.

"It was like, 'Oh, here's another one of those games where we get up and turn it into a race and be up 20-something at halftime,' " Conroy said.

But Cal scored the last seven points of the first half to close to 41-32 at the break, and Conroy said, "It seemed like all the gas was out of us."

Cal then used its superior size inside and some gritty play by point guard Richard Midgley to outscore UW 24-12 in the first nine minutes of the second half and take the lead.

"We got up and we just got kind of lackadaisical," said UW freshman Joel Smith. "Some guys just weren't into it mentally, and we just had some lapses."

While there appeared to be some frustration brewing among the Huskies — who hadn't been behind in the second half in any of their first five home games — objectivity quickly set in.

"It's not like we're going to have the lead the entire game of every game the entire season," said forward Bobby Jones. "We just have to keep it in stride."

It was Smith who then sank one of the game's biggest shots, a three-pointer from the corner — the only three-pointer UW hit in the second half — off a perfect pass from Conroy, tying the score at 60 with 9:20 left. Cal regained the lead on a free throw seconds later, but Jamaal Williams then started a 10-0 run with two free throws and a layin off another pass from Conroy, and the Bears never got closer than six the rest of the way.

"We had them on the ropes, but they just bounced back," said Midgley.

He took much of the blame for the loss as he committed six of his seven turnovers in the second half, many after Romar decided to have Conroy rather than Nate Robinson guard Midgley. Cal had 10 turnovers in the last 8:30 as UW took control.

"They just started pounding it inside and I was forcing things and turning it over too much," Midgley said.

UW's onslaught ended with a highlight-reel Robinson tip-in of a Williams miss followed by an equally flashy Simmons layin that turned into a three-point play.

But while the final score read as expected, the Huskies knew they almost let one get away.

Or maybe they simply wanted to send 2004 out just as it had come in.

• Dick Cartmell, one of the three officials for the game, had a busy 24 hours. He also worked the Gonzaga-Missouri game in Columbia, Mo., on Thursday night.

• UW finished 25-10 in the 2004 calendar year after losing the first five games of the year.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com