Kansas City, Mo. ? Even in defeat, Omar Wilkes had a joke ready for former Kansas University teammate Jeff Hawkins.

Now a starter and sophomore transfer at California, Wilkes half-guarded Hawkins as the seconds ticked away in KU’s 69-56 victory and used the time to deliver a cheap shot toward the Jayhawks’ fifth-year senior.

“I was just making fun of how old he is and how he’s still here,” Wilkes said with a laugh. “I think he was a senior when I was a freshman.”

Wilkes has bulked up a bit and maybe has become a little more serious with the media. But he’s still the same happy-go-lucky Wilkes, the one who claimed to be an accomplished horseback rider in the media guide and the one who stole television microphones to do mock interviews during his one season at KU in 2003-04.

Wilkes scored 13 points Saturday at Kemper Arena and added three steals in the loss. Cal was up 25-23 when Wilkes hit his first bucket, a three-pointer from the corner. Wilkes went on to score the team’s next 11 points, including a nice dunk in traffic just before halftime.

Once Wilkes’ spurt dried up, though, so did Cal. The Golden Bears (6-2) were outscored 38-22 in the second half and had their six-game winning streak snapped by the Jayhawks.

“I thought we did a poor job of executing in the second half,” Cal coach Ben Braun said. “We made it a lot tougher on ourselves in the second half by taking bad shots and going one-on-one.”

Wilkes received a warm ovation during pregame introductions, and the only hostility from the KU crowd came from a group of students chanting “Omar” whenever he was nearby.

“It was kind of a weird feeling,” said Wilkes, the game’s leading scorer at halftime. “As much as I lied beforehand and said it was just another game, I really wanted this one. It’s been circled on my calendar for a year-and-a-half now.”

Afterward, Wilkes talked briefly with Hawkins, Stephen Vinson and others before KU coach Bill Self sought him out.

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“He just told me I’ve gotten a lot better, and he’s rooting for me, and it was good to see me,” Wilkes said.

Cal will play one more nonconference game – against DePaul – before starting the 18-game Pac-10 schedule Dec. 29.

Wilkes said he still kept track of his former team, but said communication with his former teammates was difficult.

“It’s kind of tough in the middle of the season,” Wilkes said. “I talk to Nick Bahe almost once a week. Aaron Miles lives in Oakland, so I see him all the time. Mike Lee was just out.

“It’s still my second-favorite team,” Wilkes added, “and I’m going to root for them.”