CALIFORNIA (Feb. 24) – Senior Isaiah Lewis (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) and junior Jahmere Howze (Cleveland, Ohio/Warrensville Heights) both posted 20-point performances on Saturday afternoon, as the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team concluded the season with a 94-84 victory over Clarion on Senior Day at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
 
With the win, the Vulcans finish the year with an 11-17 overall record with a 7-15 mark in league play. Cal U records its highest win total in a single-season since the 2013-14 campaign. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles drop to 3-25 on the season with a 0-22 record in conference action.
 
Lewis led the team with 26 points on 11-of-21 attempts and collected six rebounds (four offensive) and four assists in a team-high 37 minutes. He finished the season with 10 20-point contests while leading the team with both 17.1 points and 3.6 assists per game. Howze tallied 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting and added five rebounds (three offensive), three assists, two blocks and two steals in 32 minutes off the bench. The 6-foot-7 forward concluded the season with an average 16.6 points per game and paced the team with 6.9 rebounds per game.
 
Senior Robel Teckle (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy) finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 from the floor and collected eight rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes off the bench on Saturday. Classmate Terry Davis, Jr. (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) scored 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting and added seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in 34 minutes against the Golden Eagles.
 
The Vulcans scored the initial basket of the contest on a layup by Lewis before a 9-0 run gave Cal U an early 11-2 lead. The Golden Eagles trimmed the deficit with a pair of three-pointers until the Vulcans scored five-unanswered points to remain ahead 18-10 with 10:54 remaining the first half. Clarion countered after shooting two-of-four from the floor and converting a perfect three-of-three from the charity stripe to trail 20-17. Cal U extended its lead with a 16-4 rally to lead by as many as 15 points in the first half with 6:18 left. During the run, the Vulcans shot a perfect six-of-six from the field with sophomore Jordan Gessner (Elizabethville, Pa./Upper Dauphin) leading the way with seven points. The Golden Eagles once again responded by cutting the deficit to 37-33 before Cal U took a 45-37 lead into the break.
 
Cal U quickly stretched the lead back to double-figures early in the second half before both team exchanged the next six baskets, as the Vulcans held a 58-46 lead with 16:04 remaining. Clarion cut the deficit to single-digits before six-unanswered points extended the Cal U lead to 73-61. The Vulcans continued to hold an advantage throughout the remainder of the second half and built their largest lead of the game at 18 points after scoring eight-unanswered points with 3:05 left. The Golden Eagles made one last push with a 10-0 run in a two-plus minutes span before Cal U sealed the win at the free-throw line.
 
The Vulcans shot over 55 percent in the first half before finishing the contest with a .486 field-goal percentage (35-of-72) and converted 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles made 44.0 percent (33-of-75) from the floor and went 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) from the line. Clarion held a 48-40 rebounding advantage and scored 21 second-chance points, while Cal U recorded 47 bench points in the win.
 
Freshman guard Mason Mraz posted a double-double with 22 points and 17 rebounds (seven offensive) in 38 minutes. Senior Cameron Grumley finished with 22 points on 7-of-13 attempts and converted seven-of-eight from the charity stripe and collected six rebounds and four assists in a game-high 40 minutes. Sophomore Zavyer Craft tallied 14 points on 7-of-14 and added nine rebounds, while teammate Brandon Williams totaled 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench.