No. 23 Syracuse falls to Cal in 2K Classic
NEW YORK - The place was packed with orange, just like during all those years in the Big East.
Syracuse's fans provided a home-court advantage, but the players couldn't take advantage of it.
''They showed up tonight and we didn't,'' Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said.
Jordan Mathews scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, and California routed the No. 23 Orange 73-59 on Thursday night to reach the championship game of the 2K Classic.
California (3-0) seized control by hitting four straight 3-pointers late in the first half and cruised to its first big victory of the Cuonzo Martin era. Jabari Bird added 16 points.
The Golden Bears will face No. 10 Texas, which beat Iowa 71-57 in the first semifinal, on Friday night.
''It's a big win for our program,'' Bird said. ''We came out here, we're not ranked. We're kind of an underdog team that's going up against a great team in Syracuse. They put up a great fight and we got a great team `W' tonight.''
Kaleb Joseph and Michael Gbinije each scored 13 points for Syracuse (2-1), which couldn't get much going at Madison Square Garden, where it played so many times through the years before leaving for the ACC. Leading scorer Rakeem Christmas was limited to eight points before fouling out with 6:23 left and Syracuse trailing by 14 points. He came in averaging 18 points and 12.5 rebounds.
''Our offense put our defense in such a bad position,'' Boeheim said. ''We could never get anything going.''
The Bears finally broke through in the third meeting between the teams in the last three seasons. Syracuse ousted Cal in the 2013 NCAA tournament en route to the Final Four and beat the Bears again a year ago in the Maui Invitational.
This time, Cal's four straight 3s, two by Bird, extended a two-point edge to 34-20 in the final minute of the first half. He made another for the Bears' first basket of the second half before Mathews, who had just a pair of free throws before halftime, took charge of the offense.
His three free throws after being fouled made it a 17-point game and he followed with a layup that pushed it to 47-28 with about 15 minutes left.
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TIP-INS
California: The Bears had scored 90 points in their first two games under Martin, the former Tennessee coach. They hadn't done that in consecutive games since 2002. ... As a freshman, Bird had 17 points in the Bears' 92-81 loss to the Orange last year in Maui.
Syracuse: Syracuse was playing its 168th game at Madison Square Garden. The longtime Big East members have played a game here in 33 straight seasons. ... The Orange hadn't allowed either of their first two opponents to reach 48 points. Cal reached that total with almost 12 minutes to play.
NOT THIS TIME
It was just the third loss in this event for Syracuse, which won the championship in 2004 and again in 2009. The Orange's 13-2 record coming into the game was the best in the 20-year history of the tournament.
OK, BUT NOT AWARD-WORTHY
Tyrone Wallace was the Pac-12 player of the week after averaging 20 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists against Alcorn State and Kennesaw State. He scored only 10 points Thursday on 4-of-12 shooting, but added six assists and three steals.
UP NEXT
California: Against No. 10 Texas on Friday.
Syracuse: Against Iowa on Friday.