California 64, Nevada-Las Vegas 61: Allen Crabbe had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Golden Bears past the Rebels in the NCAA Tournament at San Jose, Calif.

Justin Cobbs added 13 points and Robert Thurman scored 12 on 6-of-6 shooting for 12th-seeded California (21-11). The Golden Bears will face Syracuse on Saturday in the East Regional quarterfinals for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Anthony Bennett had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Bryce Dejean-Jones also scored 15 points for fifth-seeded UNLV (25-10), which lost its NCAA Tournament opener for the fourth straight year.

The Golden Bears had a 60-53 advantage after a dunk by Richard Solomon with 45.4 seconds left but four straight free throw misses opened the door and Mike Moser’s layup and Bennett’s three-point play got the Rebels within two with 14.4 seconds left. Crabbe hit two free throws with 1.6 seconds left for the final margin.

The contest was tied at 28 at halftime before Cal opened the second half with a 9-3 run. The lead reached 45-37 on Crabbe’s basket with 14:10 to play and UNLV missed 15 straight field-goal attempts over an 11:23 stretch until Moser scored with 5:07 left to pull the Rebels within 52-46.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Golden Bears were 7-of-16 from the free-throw line and UNLV shot 32.2 percent from the field. … Bennett was called for a flagrant 1 foul late in the first half and Cobbs drew one late in the second half. … Cal had a 34-18 edge in points in the paint.