Bears Stumble Against Syracuse

BERKELEY (AP) – Lucas Taylor scored 19 points, J.J. Starling added 18 points, and Syracuse beat California 75-66 on Saturday night.

Syracuse (10-12, 4-7 ACC) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Jeremiah Wilkinson and Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 20 points apiece for Cal (11-11, 4-7), which lost its second straight contest following a three-game win streak. Rytis Petraitis added 13 points and eight rebounds.

Starling made back-to-back layups to open the game, Taylor followed with a jumper and Elijah Moore hit a 3-pointer to make it 9-0 about three minutes into the game and Syracuse never trailed. Chris Bell scored in the lane and then hit a 3 to cap a 10-1 run that gave the Orange a 13-point lead with nine minutes until halftime.

Cal used a pair of 11-0 runs to twice get within seven points in the second half and Petraitis scored seven points in a 9-3 spurt that made it 67-61 when Blacksher made a layup with 1:14 to play, but the Bears got no closer.

The Golden Bears shot just 17% (4 of 23) from the field and made 2 of 14 (14%) from 3-point range in the first half and trailed 40-23 at the break. Cal had stretches of seven- and five-plus minutes without a made field goal before intermission.

Andrej Stojakovic, Cal's leading scorer (18.9 points per game; third in the ACC) this season, missed his fourth consecutive game.

UP NEXT

Cal hosts NC State on Wednesday in Haas Pavilion. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. PT and ACC Network will televise the contest.

SUPPORT THE BEARS

Tickets for the 2024-25 campaign can be purchased by visiting CalBears.com/Tickets, calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277) or emailing goldstandard@berkeley.edu. Fans can support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men's Basketball Excellence Initiative or the California Legends Collective.