‘Cuse Falls To Cal, 73-59

Thursday, November 20

Manhattan, N.Y.

9:35 p.m.

Syracuse University

2-1

California

3-0

Team	1	2	F
Syracuse	22	37	59
California	34	39	73

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

11/20/2014 11:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Eight threes power the Cal offense past the Orange to advance in the 2k Classic

Cal 73, Syracuse 59 (.pdf)

NEW YORK – The No. 23 Syracuse men's basketball team dropped its first contest of the season at the hands of California, 73-59, in the semifinals of the 2K Classic Benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Golden Bears (3-0) advance to the finals to face Texas, while Orange (2-1) will take on Iowa (2-1) in the consolation game at 5 p.m.

A strong shooting performance propelled Cal to the win. The Bears shot 47.3 percent overall, including 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from 3-point range, while the Orange shot 37.1 percent overall and was 4-of-15 from behind arc.

Michael Gbinije and Kaleb Joseph led Syracuse with 13 points each, while Chris McCullough added 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Rakeem Christmas was hampered by foul trouble all game, eventually fouling out with 6:23 to go. He finished with a final line of eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Jordan Mathews led Cal with 22 points, while Jabari Bird added 16 on 4-of-5 3-point shooting and David Kravish recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.

Threes Falling For The Bears
Trading points throughout the first half, Cal beat the 'Cuse zone defense by busting out four consecutive unanswered three-pointers to hoist its lead from 22-20 to 34-20 with 52-seconds left in the half.

Michael Gbinije snapped the scoring streak with a layup to cut the lead to 12 at the break with the Golden Bears leading, 34-22.

Cal Closes
The Golden Bears picked up right where they left off, opening up with an 8-4 run, sparked by another three and capped off with a dunk to extend its lead to 42-26.

Following a layup by Kaleb Joseph, Cal powered forward with five unanswered points, taking a 47-28 lead.

Forced to make a move, Syracuse netted seven unanswered to cut the deficit to 12, trailing the Bears 47-35, however, Cal answered the surge with another 6-0 burst to lead the Orange, 53-35.

The lead proved insurmountable with the Golden Bears closing out the contest, 73-59.