BERKELEY -- Jordan Mathews was so confident, he told his team he would make a shot late in regulation. He hit nothing but net.
Tyrone Wallace recorded his third double-double of the season and second in a row with 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, David Kravish scored six of his 14 points in the second overtime, including the go-ahead basket with under 30 seconds remaining and California beat Montana 78-76 in double overtime Wednesday night.
"It showed a lot of toughness and heart," Wallace said. "We made plays when we had to."
Mathews scored all 13 of his points after halftime, hitting two huge 3-pointers in the process. He hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 17 seconds to tie the game for California (6-1) and send it into overtime.
"That's a play we work on in practice every day," Mathews said. "It's for any situation. It was set up perfectly."
Jordan Gregory scored a career-high 23 points and had 12 rebounds, and Martin Breunig also had 23 points for Montana (2-4), which lost its second straight. Jermaine Edmonds scored 12 points.
"I felt our guys played well," Montana coach Travis DeCuire said. "Our biggest issue right now is learning how to finish games, hitting free throws and getting good shots down the stretch."
Gregory hit 2 of 3 free throws to tie it at 67 with 51 seconds left in the first overtime.
Cal, which played without injured starting guard Jabari Byrd, scored the first points of the second half before Montana went on a 19-3 run, including 10 in a row, to open a 50-42 advantage with 11:32 remaining to play.
Gregory and Breuning combined for 11 of those points as the Grizzlies took advantage of Cal turnovers. Montana scored 21 points off 22 Cal turnovers and committed just nine.
Montana hurt itself with a poor effort from the foul line, making 7 of 16 during regulation and allowing the Bears to hang around.
The Grizzlies maintained the lead for most of the first half as Breunig hit 4 of 6 shots.
Dwight Tarwater started an 11-2 run for Cal with a basket at 4:58 as Montana missed nine of its last 11 shots in the half.
Kravish hit a short jumper in the waning moments of the first halt to put California ahead 35-29 at the intermission.
Montana: Grizzlies coach Travis DeCuire spent the previous six years as an assistant to former Golden Bears coach Mike Montgomery at Cal. Montgomery, who retired after last season, started his coaching career at Montana before coming to the Bay Area. "It was a little emotional leading up to the game," DeCuire said. "You're trying to go against guys you recruited and spent quality time with. I would have rather not played them, but once the ball is in the air, you want to win."
California: Jabari Bird missed the game with a left foot injury, forcing a change in the starting lineup for the first time. Sophomore Sam Singer made his first career start. . New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson, who spent two years at Cal, was in attendance. The Pelicans play at the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.
Freshman guard Brandon Chauca made his debut for the Bears and scored eight points with a team-high six assists. He hit two key free throws in the second overtime. "He came out and played well," Wallace said. "He gave us a lot of energy."
The Grizzlies and Bears met for the second time and the first since the 1930-31 season.
Montana returns home to play North Dakota State on Sunday.
California travels to play at Nevada on Sunday.
