Berkeley, Calif. ? The Cal players said there were no hard feelings following their 78-63 loss to Kansas University in a rough game Wednesday night.

“Just physical. Just two teams going hard,” Cal center Markhuri Sanders-Frison said. “That was it.”

The two teams combined for 45 fouls, including three technicals.

“It was just two teams competing hard,” Cal guard Allen Crabbe said. “… I know both teams wanted this game.”

One of the roughest scenes was early in the second half, when Cal guard Jorge Gutierrez had to be restrained by coach Mike Montgomery following a tie-up with KU’s Thomas Robinson.

Both players received technical fouls.

“It pumped us up,” Crabbe said. “After that we had a little run. It pumped us up, and the crowd got into it.”

Still, the play bumped Gutierrez’s foul total up to four and put him on the bench for an extended period.

“We’ve got some guys trying to take care of themselves out there,” Montgomery said, “and it cost us.”

Montgomery said Gutierrez needed to be smarter in that situation.

“Gotta love Jorge. He’s the greatest. He’s the best, but he’s a stubborn son of a gun,” Montgomery said. “If you attack him, he’s going to come back at you. …

“He takes things personally. He competes out there. It’s not a bad thing, except there are times and circumstances.”

Montgomery wasn’t expecting a physical game against KU.

“I really wasn’t,” Montgomery said. “I think, obviously, both teams reacted to the other team. We went out and wanted to try to compete, then some stuff happened and there was reaction both ways. I didn’t expect that, but we were trying to compete.”

The Bears didn’t seem frustrated that the play turned chippy against the Jayhawks.

“Nah, it was fun. It was a great environment,” Sanders-Frison said. “We were waiting for this. We were excited about it.”