By Morris Phillips

To appreciate what Cuonzo Martin’s Cal Bears did in beating Syracuse in Madison Square Garden on Thursday, you have to first digest what Mike Montgomery’s Bears weren’t able to do against the Orangemen the previous two seasons.

In Montgomery’s final NCAA tournament appearance, his Bears led by Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs scored just 60 points against Coach Jim Boeheim’s vaunted, matchup zone, shooting 39 percent from the field and making every possession look like pulling teeth against Syracuse’s experienced, lengthy defenders.

“I was fearful that was going to happen,” Montgomery said after that March 2013 season-ending NCAA third-round loss.  “I knew where the strengths of the zone and what the weaknesses were.  I wasn’t sure we had the personnel in a day to get done what we needed to get done.”

“It’s like when a shark smells blood,” Syracuse guard Michael Carter-Williams, who would go on to being picked in the 2013 NBA Draft’s first round and become the 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year.  “You just get excited and want to keep going and shut him down some more.”

A year ago, in the cozy, well-known Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Cal’s offense wasn’t bad, led by Cobbs the Bears scored 81 points and shot 52 percent from the field against the Orange.  But freshman phenom Tyler Ennis scored 28 points for Syracuse and they broke open a close game midway through the second half and cruised to a 92-81 win.

Syracuse’s superior talent stood out in both wins, but this time, with a few players for both teams back from each of the previous Orangemen wins, Cal looked to be the more talented bunch.  The Bears’ 3-point shooting highlighted the first half as Cal went up 34-20 just before the break, and extended their lead to as much as 19 points in the second half.

This time, under Martin, the Bears attacked Boeheim’s zone aggressively, using dribble penetration to get to the basket or kick outs to shooters.  To be fair, the biggest difference between this time and the first two matchups, was Syracuse’s inexperience with promising freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph and forward Chris McCullough suffering subpar games, especially on the defensive end.

But the Bears responded with a crisp effort, shooting 46 percent from the field and canning eight 3-pointers to establish and maintain their lead.  Jordan Mathews, Jabari Bird and Tyrone Wallace weren’t bad against Syracuse in Maui a year ago, combining to score 38 points.  But this time the trio led Cal’s confident approach, combining for 48 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

“We lost to them the past two years, and with guys that were returning it plays on your mind.  But I thought our guys did a great job of accepting the challenge,” Martin said.

“We’re going to have to spend the month of December getting better,” Boeheim said.  “You can’t lose guys like we’ve lost and play like you played last year.”

The Bears improved to 3-0 on the season and the national televised game allowed famed broadcaster Dick Vitale to repeatedly question pre-season prognostications that have the Bears finishing seventh or worse in the Pac-12.

Cal will face Texas Friday night in the championship game of the 2K Classic.  The No. 10 Longhorns ran past Iowa in the opening game Thursday at the famed Garden.  The big, physical Texas team will provide quite a difference test for Cal with their experience and size.

Syracuse allowed more than 48 points for the first time this season on Thursday, while Martin’s Bears scored in fewer than 90 points for the first time after a pair of opening round blowouts last week.