Syracuse 75, California 66: strong defense helps Orange escape Berkeley with victory

‘Cuse leaves the West Coast with its first “All-Coast Conference” win ever.

Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

BERKELEY, C.A. — An unorthodox, rollercoaster-like game eventually resulted in the Syracuse Orange (10-12, 4-7) coming away with a 75-66 road win over the California Golden Bears (11-11, 4-7) on Saturday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Syracuse’s defense held Cal to just 29% shooting in the game overall, but the Golden Bears notably went 24/30 on free throws and took advantage of the Orange’s turnovers to bounce back after making just four field goals in the first half. Syracuse would lead as much as 18 points, yet would also surrender several scoring runs which allowed Cal to get back within striking distance.

In the end, the backcourt duo of Lucas Taylor (19 points on 5/8 shooting) and J.J. Starling (18 points on 6/18 shooting) gave the Orange enough offense late to stay ahead and come away with its second road victory of the season and a key win in the context of staying on the inside track for getting a spot in the ACC Tournament.

All 10 players who stepped on the court for the Orange ended up scoring, including seven who had at least two baskets. For Cal, Jeremiah Wilkinson and Jovan Blacksher Jr. each had 20 points but combined to shoot 12/35, with the Golden Bears most definitely missing leading scorer Andrej Stojakovic (18.9 PPG in 2024-25), who was out for the game with an injury.

Unlike their previous West Coast matchup days ago, the Orange were the team to get off to a fast start out of the gate.

Starling got the first basket for Syracuse on a running layup, then scored again once again driving down into the paint. Cal missed its first three shots, and after Taylor scored on a moving mid-range shot to put ‘Cuse up 6-0, the Golden Bears were forced to call an early timeout less than three minutes into the game. Elijah Moore drilled a three to put Syracuse up as much as nine before Wilkinson finally got Cal on the board.

Neither offense could really muster anything efficient as the halfway mark of the first half approached. Syracuse and Cal combined to shoot 7/24 (29%) combined in the first eight minutes, with Wilkinson being the only player to knock down a field goal for the Golden Bears by this point.

The Orange were likewise cold from the floor as well, going over three minutes without a field goal until a Naheem McLeod hook shot got ‘Cuse back on track (16-9).

In an interesting twist, Syracuse’s defense continued to hold courtesy of coach Adrian Autry going with the 2-3 zone. An all-bench lineup of Carlos, Cuffe, Bell, Majstorovic and McLeod would help get Syracuse its first double-digit lead of the night. Bell knocked down back-to-back contested shots, including a three from the wing, to put the Orange up 23-10 with under eight minutes until halftime. At this point, Cal was shooting 2/15 from the field and hadn’t made a field goal since around the 14-minute mark.

Cal would get its deficit down to as low as nine points (26-17) in the first half, but a 7-0 got the Orange back up by double-digits all the way until halftime. The Golden Bears did what they do best of relentlessly getting to the free throw line, getting over half (!!!) of their 23 first half points from there.

With that said, Syracuse would take as much as a 17-point lead, with Starling capping off the half with a three after he missed six in a row.

The Orange would enter the second half up 40-23. The Golden Bears shot just 4/23 (17%) by halftime and once again closed the half going over five minutes without a field goal, while six different members of the Orange (Starling, Taylor, Moore, Davis, Lampkin and Bell) all had at least two baskets in what was a balanced scoring attack in the first half.

Despite its shooting struggles, Cal wouldn’t let the game get away that easily. Blacksher drilled consecutive shots to get the Golden Bears on the board coming right out of halftime. Taylor responded with a corner three, but a monster fastbreak jam from Wilkinson trimmed Syracuse’s lead to 13 (43-30), forcing Autry to call a timeout just two and a half minutes in.

The scoring run would continue for Cal, who easily matched the number of field goals it had during the entire first half just minutes into the second half. Wilkinson knocked down a difficult step-back three to bring Syracuse’s lead down even more, now to just seven (43-46). Starling responded with two straight floaters to push the lead back to double-digits.

It was then Carlos’ time to provide a brief offensive spark, drilling a three then coming down with this and-one layup in transition to push Syracuse out to a 55-39 lead.

Just as easily as Syracuse went up big again, Cal closed the deficit once more. Blacksher made his third three of the night to cap off an 11-0 run, while the Orange went nearly seven minutes without a field goal before Lampkin finished a shot around the rim.

Syracuse entered the final three minutes of the game up 62-52, but yet again, the Golden Bears provided another scare late, scoring seven points in 19 seconds. When the dust finally settled, Syracuse came away with enough free throws in the final seconds to stay ahead for good.

Up next for the Orange: a return to the JMA Wireless Dome to face the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils, who enter the game with an undefeated record against the ACC and a 15-game winning streak.