Syracuse got out to a quick start and made it stand up for a 75-66 road victory as California struggled through a lousy shooting night. The Orange (10-12, 4-7 ACC) hung the first nine points of the night and twice led by 18 as the Golden Bears (11-11, 4-7) shot just 28.6 percent overall and a measly 17.1 percent from 3-point range without top scorer Andrej Stojakovic. The win snapped a three-game slide for SU.
The Syracuse offense shot the ball well overall, finishing at 46.3 percent from the field and an even 50 percent from 3. That marksmanship was enough to help them overcome 13 turnovers, including nine in the second half.
In a sharp contrast to Wednesday night’s game at Stanford, the Orange got out to a quick start as their backcourt scored the first nine points of the night. Cal responded shortly after by scoring seven out of nine points in one stretch to draw within 13-9, but SU flipped the switch back in their favor with the next five to double up the hosts just before the midpoint of the opening half.
A Golden Bear foul shot momentarily stopped the bleeding, but Chris Bell hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to stretch the lead out to 23-10. Twice, California chipped the lead down to nine, but Syracuse pushed the lead out by posting the next seven points to make it a 33-17 game before the under-four media break.
The Orange were able to keep Cal at arm’s length the rest of the half and a J.J. Starling 3-pointer with 12 seconds left gave them a 40-23 lead at halftime. That margin touched 18 points early in the second half, but the Golden Bears chipped it down to 13 points, including getting a dunk that forced an SU timeout less than two-and-a-half minutes into the second half.
After that break, the hosts immediately scored on a three-point play, then got a fortunate bounce on a 3-pointer to make it an 11-0 run and pull within 43-36. Starling responded with the next two baskets in the mid-range to push the Syracuse lead back into double figures and pass the 1,000-point plateau for his career.
Those two scores also started a 13-3 Orange run where Starling (seven) and Jaquan Carlos (six) accounted for all the points and gave them a 56-39 lead. The lead touched 18 once more, but the SU offense ground to a halt and California scrapped back within 58-46 at the under-eight media timeout.
The break did not slow down the Golden Bears, who added a bucket and a 3 for another 11-0 run to make it a 58-51 game, tying the closest margin of the half. Cal, however, went into another shooting slump, allowing Syracuse to push the lead back up to a dozen points at 64-52 with 2:30 remaining.
A pair of California foul shots made it a ten-point game, but Lucas Taylor spun home his third 3-pointer of the night with 1:45 left to build a lead that withstood some antsy moments caused by a couple bad turnovers against the press with some help from eight straight free throws from Taylor and Starling.
Taylor paced the Orange with 19 points, including a dozen in the second half. Starling had a choppy shooting night, but turned in an 18-point effort. Carlos chipped in eight points while three players added six, including Eddie Lampkin, who also grabbed ten rebounds.
Jeremiah Wilkinson and Jovan Blacksher Jr. tied for game-high honors with 20 points apiece for the Golden Bears, the latter hitting four 3-pointers. Rytis Petraitis was the only other player in double figures for Cal with 13 points while also claiming a team-high eight boards. Joshua Ola-Joseph chipped in seven points.
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