CALIFORNIA (Dec. 1) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team suffered a 71-58 loss to Clarion in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at the Convocation Center on Tuesday night.

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 2-5 overall with a 1-3 record in league play. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles extended their winning streak to six games to improve to 6-2 on the year behind a 4-0 mark in conference action.

Sophomore Luka Andjusic (Belgrade, Serbia/Borislav Petrov Braca) and senior Nate Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) both led the team with 11 points, while Bellhy recorded all of his points in the second half on four-of-six shooting from the floor. Sophomore Tony Richardson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) posted 10 points off the bench. Senior Richard Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East) paced the team with six rebounds and classmate Khalil Jabbie (Alexandria, Va./Edison) totaled seven assists on Tuesday night.

The two teams started the game by trading baskets before Cal U took an early 10-7 lead behind six points from Andjusic with 16:04 left in the first half. Clarion responded with an 11-2 run that lasted almost six minutes to take an 18-12 lead with 10:24 remaining. After the Vulcans were able to end the run with a three-point play by Jabbie, the Golden Eagles rallied for eight-unanswered points that resulted in a 11-2 run to take a 28-18 lead with 4:45 remaining in the half. Following a free-throw from Richardson, Clarion ended the half with 10-straight points to take a 39-22 lead into halftime.

The Golden Eagles opened the second half with a 16-6 run that lasted for almost six minutes to increase their lead to 55-28 at the 13:45-mark. During the run, the Vulcans shot just 3-of-11 from the field. After the two teams traded baskets, Cal U mounted an 11-2 run behind a pair of three-pointers to cut the deficit to 65-43 with 7:43 remaining in the game. Following a jumper from the Golden Eagles, the Vulcans registered 10-unanswered points over a four-minute stretch to trim the deficit to 67-53 with 3:02 left in the half. The two teams traded scores for the rest of the game with Clarion earning a 71-58 victory. 

Cal U ended the game shooting 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the floor, while Clarion made 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field. The Vulcans tallied 27 points off the bench, including two players in double-digits. 

Senior Rob Agurs registered 14 points, including 12 points in the second half, on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, while junior BJ Andrews also recorded 14 points with 12 points in the first half. 

The Vulcans return to action on Friday, Dec. 4, when they travel to face Cheyney at 8 p.m.