Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse basketball team takes on the California Golden Bears at 10 p.m., Saturday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, California.
The game will air on ESPN2.
See in-game team and individual stats here.
Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game at California to see the latest updates
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Final: Syracuse 75, California 66
Syracuse snaps a three-game losing streak by putting together one of its most complete outings of the season in a win at California on Saturday night at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, California.
After leading by 13 points late in regulation, Cal cut the margin to 67-61 with a little more than a minute remaining, forcing the Orange to earn the win at the free throw line down the stretch.
The Orange weathered a couple of big Cal scoring runs in the second half to rebuild a double-digit lead and now catches a red-eye flight home on Sunday morning for a short turnaround before hosting No. 2 Duke on Wednesday night in the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Orange jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game and put the defensive clamps on Cal by bringing out a 2-3 zone. The defensive move helped limit Cal to less than 20% shooting from the floor in the first half and less than 30% for the game. Syracuse led by as many as 18 points about midway through the second half.
Second half
3:17 remaining: Syracuse 62, California 52
If the result holds, Syracuse will head home with a 10-12 record to face the lone unbeaten team in ACC play that is coming off a dominant 17-point victory against its arch rival (Duke led North Carolina by 30 points on Saturday).
FYI: The Blue Devils have not lost since before Thanksgiving.
Blacksher rattles home a 3, and the Bears are on an 11-0 run over the last 4-plus minutes.
Cal hanging around and is in the bonus, but the Bears commit a bad turnover on a lazy, misguided lob pass that Lampkin easily intercepts.
7:37 remaining: Syracuse 58, California 46
Good contested shot by McLeod at the rim to turn away Cal. The 7-foot-4 center has two points, three rebounds and a block in nine minutes of action.
Cal is still shooting just 26% from the floor for the game and is 4-for-25 from 3. The Orange is shooting 50% from the field and 7-for-12 (58%) from 3.
11:54 remaining: Syracuse 56, California 39
Syracuse turns it over out of the under-16 TV timeout. Starling curls off a screen and hits a short jumper from the elbow.
The Orange answers with a burst of a 7-0 run, including a 3 by Carlos to push the lead back to 14.
Starling then uses a screen up top by Lampkin to get downhill and finishes at the rim.
Starling has a team high 14 points but heads to the bench with just more than 12 minutes remaining in the second half.
Carlos gets the break going off a long missed 3 and finishes through contact for a three-point play.
15:43 remaining: Syracuse 45, California 36
Elijah Moore picks up where he left off in the first half with an early 3 before Cal rattles off seven straight points punctuated by a thunderous dunk in transition.
Jyare Davis with a sloppy entry pass to Lampkin and turns it over out of a timeout. It turns into an and-one opportunity for Cal at the other end. The Bears have trimmed the lead to 10 and have as many field goals in the first three minutes of the second half as they did in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Wilkinson hits a step-back 3 over Moore and all you can do is tip your cap to the shot-making ability of the freshman.
Starling answers with a much-needed bucket to snap a 10-0 Cal run.
Halftime: Syracuse 40, California 23
Syracuse has opened up a 17-point halftime lead behind an active, versatile defense, holding Cal to less than 20% shooting from the field.
Nine of the 10 Orange men who have checked into the game have scored, with JJ Starling and Lucas Taylor pacing the Orange with seven points apiece. Elijah Moore (six points) and Jyare Davis (six points; five rebounds) also aided the Orange effort in the first half.
Syracuse has turned to its 2-3 zone at moments in the first half, evening subbing in seldom-used backup center Naheem McLeod for four first-half minutes.
The zone and SU’s man-to-man defense has completely flummoxed Cal, holding the Bears to 4-for-23 shooting, including 2-for-14 from 3.
First half
Good second-effort by Davis to follow his miss off the glass and finish underneath.
Lampkin then sticks back a miss by Majstorovic.
Cal has 13 of its 23 points at the free throw line and it’s shooting sub-20% from the field.
Starling, who had missed his last six shots, ends the half with a 3.
3:46 remaining: Syracuse 33, California 17
Cal’s 7:15 field goal drought is, mercifully, over.
Taylor hits a 3 at the other end. Cal is 1-for-11 from beyond the arc. Taylor looks toward Moore on a back-door cut but Moore doesn’t appear to look for the pass and it’s a turnover for the Orange.
Davis absorbs contact down low for a lay-in. Then, off a turnover, Lampkin kicks it out to Moore for a corner 3 to open up a 14-point lead.
Syracuse now has its largest lead of the game off a short hook in the paint by Lampkin.
7:52 remaining: Syracuse 23, California 10
McLeod corrals a catch and finishes in the paint. Then, Carlos picks up his dribble in the lane but uses some crafty footwork to get a shot up and draw a foul. Syracuse leads, 18-9 as Cal has started 2-for-11 from the field.
Bell, who’s shooting 50% over his last eight games (17-for-34), scores five straight points, to open up a double-digit lead. The junior grew up about 30 minutes outside Berkeley.
The Bears are now 2-for-13 from the field and settling for a bunch of bad shots.
11:54 remaining: Syracuse 14, California 9
Davis is working hard on the glass to keep a possession alive and earns a trip to the free throw line. The Orange enters the game next-to-last in the 18-team league in free throw shooting and 3-point shooting.
Jovan Blacksher, an Oakland native who transferred in from Grand Canyon, hits two free throws, and the Orange has an 11-4 lead five minutes into the game.
Chris Bell, Jaquan Carlos, Petar Majstorovic and Kyle Cuffe Jr. await at the scorer’s table and will check in with 13:01 remaining in the half.
Carlos, coming off a perfect shooting performance at Stanford, hits the side of the backboard on his first perimeter shot of the evening.
Naheem McLeod with some rare minutes here in the first half.
Cal is 2-for-10 from the field, while the Orange is 5-for-14.
15:48 remaining: Syracuse 9, California 2
Elijah Moore hits a 3 to open up a 9-0 start before freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson hits a midrange jumper.
Moore tries an extra pass to Jyare Davis underneath the basket instead of taking it up off the feed from Lampkin and turns it over.
17:34 remaining: Syracuse 6, California 0
Syracuse opens up with a familiar starting five. JJ Starling gets the Orange on the board first with a strong take to the basket.
Cal starts 0-for-3 from 3. Starling then uses a screen from Eddie Lampkin at the top of the key and gets to the rack for a second lay-up before Lucas Taylor hits a pop shot in the paint.
Pregame
Update 9:55 p.m.: Sissoko will be available; Stojakovic is out, per Cal.
Welcome to February basketball, when bubble talk becomes more ubiquitous and teams attempt to peak by March.
The Orange has just 10 regular-season games remaining in what has been among its worst on record in the last 55 years.
Syracuse (9-12, 3-7 ACC) is barreling toward just its second losing season since 1968-69, when SU finished 9-16 in Roy Danforth’s first season.
The Golden Bears (11-10, 4-6) are five-point home favorites, but Saturday’s game represents a rare opportunity for a road win.
SU is 1-8 in games away from the JMA Wireless Dome, including an 0-3 mark on a neutral court in Brooklyn.
The Orange has to fly back to the East Coast late Saturday night and has a short turnaround before hosting No. 2 Duke on Wednesday night, a scheduling truth that drew criticism from assistant coach Allen Griffin earlier this week during a local radio interview.
Pregame updates on two Cal starters will be worth monitoring. Andrej Stojakovic, a 6-7 forward, and Mady Sissoko, a 6-9 center, both missed its 76-65 loss at SMU on Wednesday.
Syracuse has been playing without injured five-star freshman forward Donnie Freeman, who is sidelined indefinitely with a foot issue.
Syracuse basketball stays poised in 2nd half to snap 3-game losing streak at Cal: Final score, recap
In a thrilling matchup against Cal, Syracuse basketball showed their resilience and determination as they snapped a 3-game losing streak with a hard-fought victory on the road. The final score of the game was 78-72 in favor of the Orange.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams trading baskets and playing tough defense. Cal managed to take a slim lead going into halftime, but Syracuse came out firing on all cylinders in the second half.
Led by star guard Buddy Boeheim, who finished with a game-high 25 points, the Orange turned up the intensity on both ends of the court. Their defense tightened up, forcing turnovers and contesting shots, while their offense found its rhythm, knocking down key shots and getting to the free-throw line.
Despite a late surge from Cal, Syracuse stayed poised and composed, making crucial plays down the stretch to secure the much-needed win. The victory was a testament to the team’s resilience and ability to overcome adversity.
With this win, Syracuse improves to 5-3 on the season and looks to build on this momentum as they head into conference play. The Orange will look to continue their winning ways and make a push for the postseason.
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