LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (Dec. 3) – The California (PA) men's basketball team was unable to overcome a second-half surge on Saturday night, as it suffered an 89-71 loss at Lock Haven in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.
With the loss, the Vulcans drop to 3-5 overall and 0-2 in conference action. Meanwhile, the Bald Eagles snapped a 12-game losing streak in the series as they improve to 6-1 this season behind a 2-0 mark in league contests.
Redshirt junior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) notched a game-high 22 points, as he shot 9-of-15 from the field with a pair of three-pointers and added four assists, one block and one steal. It marked the second 20-point game from Hall this season as he has scored in double-digits in all eight games. The Baltimore native is averaging 18.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game with a .510 field-goal percentage.
Sophomore
Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, marking his third double-double of the season. Additionally, Palek collected two assists, one block and one steal. Sophomore
DJ Slaughter (Manassas, Va./Saint John Paul the Great Catholic) registered 11 points and four rebounds, while classmate
Cam Polak (West Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) added seven points, three rebounds and two steals.
Both teams split the initial 12 points of the game. The following 13 points featured six lead changes with Cal holding a slight 13-12 edge. The Vulcans stretched their advantage to a 19-13 margin after conducting a 6-1 run with 9:48 remaining in the half. The back-and-forth battle continued as the teams traded the following 12 points with Cal still grasping a six-point advantage at 27-21. Lock Haven trimmed the deficit in half and pulled within three point after a floater from Justice Shoats. The Vulcans maintained their advantage to hold a 36-32 edge at the break.
The Bald Eagles claimed momentum as they opened the second half with an 11-4 run to gather a 43-40 lead. Lock Haven eventually took its largest lead of the night after completing a 13-2 run with 12:46 left to play. With 5:59 remaining in the game, the Bald Eagles extended their advantage to 22 points, 74-52, and was able to ride their lead to a win.
Cal shot 43.3 percent (26-of-60) from the field while making a 30.8 clip (8-of-26) from beyond the arc. Lock Haven shot a staggering 53 percent (35-of-66) from the field and made 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from long range. Both teams were tied with 37-37 total rebounds while the Bald Eagles recorded 21 assists.
Jalen Gorham scored a team-high 16 points with eight rebounds and a trio of steals. Jayy Davis scored 14 points in addition to four assists, four rebounds and one steal. James Price notched 13 points with five rebounds and a block while Eli Washington also tallied 13 points with a pair of assists and three rebounds.
Cal returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 18, as it hosts Bloomsburg in PSAC Crossover play at 3 p.m.
