Cal beats Syracuse 73-59 in 2K Classic

NEW YORK — Jordan Mathews scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, and California routed No. 23 Syracuse 73-59 on Thursday night to reach the championship game of the 2K Classic.

California (3-0) seized control by hitting four straight 3-pointers late in the first half and cruised to its first big victory of the Cuonzo Martin era. Jabari Bird added 16 points.

The Golden Bears will face No. 10 Texas, which beat Iowa 71-57 in the first semifinal, on Friday night.

Kaleb Joseph and Michael Gbinije each scored 13 points for Syracuse (2-1), which couldn't get much going in front of its orange-clad fans at Madison Square Garden. Leading scorer Rakeem Christmas was limited to eight points before fouling out with 6:23 left and Syracuse trailing by 14 points. He came in averaging 18 points and 12.5 rebounds.

This time, Cal's four straight 3s, two by Bird, extended a two-point edge to 34-20 in the final minute of the first half. He made another for the Bears' first basket of the season half before Mathews, who had just a pair of free throws before halftime, took charge of the offense.

His three free throws after being fouled made it a 17-point game and he followed with a layup that pushed it to 47-28 with about 15 minutes left.

STANFORD WOMEN FALL TO TEXAS:

Nneka Enemkpali scored 18 points, and No. 10 Texas beat No. 6 Stanford 87-81 in overtime on Thursday night.

Empress Davenport added 13 points in the Longhorns' first win over a top-10 team in almost six years.

It was Stanford's first game since it beat No. 1 Connecticut 88-86 in overtime on Monday night, snapping the Huskies' 47-game winning streak. The Cardinal had won 28 straight games at Maples Pavilion.

Lili Thompson had 28 points for Stanford (2-1), and Amber Orrange scored 15.

Enemkpali's layup with 2:48 left in regulation lifted Texas to a 73-71 lead. But Bonnie Samuelson responded with a 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining, putting Stanford in front.

The Cardinal had a 75-73 lead when Davenport converted a bank shot in traffic with 1.3 seconds to play, sending the game to overtime.

Ariel Atkins had a key 3-pointer in the extra period as Texas (2-0) outscored Stanford 12-6 in the extra period. Brady Sanders and Brooke McCarty each had a big jumper for the Longhorns in OT.