California 73, No. 24 Syracuse 59: Jordan Mathews scored 22 points to lead the Golden Bears to a convincing win over the Orange at the 2K Classic in Madison Square Garden.

California (3-0) also received 16 points from Jabari Bird and 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks from David Kravish in advancing to Friday's tournament title game against No. 10 Texas. The Bears shot a crisp 8-of-19 from behind the arc, including a 4-of-5 effort by Bird.

Kaleb Joseph and Michael Gbinije each had 13 points to pace the Orange (2-1), who shot poorly from the field (37.1 percent), the arc (4-of-17) and the foul line (9-of-16). After averaging 18 points in Syracuse's first two games, senior leader Rakeem Christmas was limited to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting.

A three-point play by Gbinije with four minutes left in the first half drew the Orange within 22-20, but the Bears went on a 12-2 run to end the half behind 3-pointers by Kravish and Dwight Tarwater and a pair of long-range shots by Bird. Bird finished 3-of-3 from behind the arc in the first half, while Kravish racked up seven points, six rebounds and four assists in the opening stanza.

Cal's lead stood at 37-26 early in the second half when the Bears went on a 10-2 surge that featured eight points by Mathews. A 3-pointer by Gbinije got the Orange within 47-35 with 12:20 to go, but the Bears' 6-0 burst, including five points by Mathews, ended any potential drama down the stretch.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bears got some revenge for a 92-81 loss to the Orange in last season's Maui Invitational. ... Freshman F Chris McCullough had 12 points, seven rebounds and five blocks for Syracuse, which had been 66-1 in non-conference games since 2009. ... Byrd shot 32.3 percent from 3-point range last season and was 1-of-5 in Cal's first two games before his hot-shooting performance Thursday.