CLARION, Pa.( Feb. 18) – The Vulcans shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half en route to posting a 74-56 win at Clarion on Saturday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the victory, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team improve to 10-16 overall behind a 7-13 mark in conference play. Cal U sits just a half-game behind Seton Hill for the final playoff spot from the PSAC West in the league tournament with two games left in the regular season. Meanwhile, Clarion falls to 7-19 overall with a 4-16 record in league action.
Junior
Luka Andjusic (Belgrade,Serbia/ Borislav Petrov Braca) led the team with 16 points after shooting 6-of-12 from the field, including four-of-nine from beyond the arc. He also added four rebounds and two steals while playing a team-high 35 minutes on Saturday. Andjusic has scored in double-digits for four-straight games and leads the team in scoring this season with 11.3 points per game.
Classmate
Daniel Sapp (Streetsboro, Ohio/Streetsboro) tallied 13 points on five-of-nine shooting from the field and collected six rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Fellow junior
Cordell Smith (Cleveland,Ohio/Shaw) posted 12 points with a team-high six assists, while classmates
Tony Richardson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) and
Robel Teckle (Washington D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy) each scored 11 points in the victory.
Clarion scored the game's opening seven points in less than 90 seconds and built its lead to 11-3 at the 15:22-mark. A three-pointer from Andjusic at the 11:47-mark tied the scored at 16-16 to cap a 13-5 run by the Vulcans, which made three-straight three-pointers. Cal U then scored six-straight points to take a 23-16 lead with 8:32 left in the first half after a layup from Richardson. Another trio of three-pointers extended the lead to 34-22 at the 4:38-mark and the Vulcans held a 43-24 lead at halftime. Cal U held Clarion without a field goal for the final 5:38 of the half and completed a 40-11 run since being down 11-3 with 15:22 left before the break.
Cal U extended its lead to 51-30 in the opening four minutes of the second half behind a pair of three-pointers from Andjusic. The Vulcans used an 11-4 run with another set of three-straight three-pointers, two by Sapp, to extend their lead to 62-38 at the 9:44-mark. Cal U continued to pull away from Clarion with an 8-3 run over the span of four minutes after the Golden Eagles hit back-to-back layups. The Golden Eagles closed the game on a 9-2 run, but the Vulcans held on for a 74-56 victory. Cal U limited Clarion to just 1-of-12 from beyond the arc in the second half.
The Vulcans finished the game 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the field after shooting at a 51.6 percent clip in the first half and went 33.3 percent (11-of-33) from long range. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles shot 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the floor and just 12.0 percent (3-of-25) from beyond the arc. Cal U held a slight 38-36 rebounding advantage and finished with 20 bench points.
Junior Jamani Pierce led the Golden Eagles with 22 points off the bench behind shooting 10-of-19 from the field. Senior B.J. Andrews posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 22, when it travels to face Mercyhurst in Erie, Pennsylvania, for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
