CALIFORNIA (Jan. 11) – Following a season-high 22 points from freshman
KJ McClurg (Morgantown, W.Va./University), the California (PA) men's basketball team won 78-63 versus Edinboro in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
With the victory, the Vulcans extend their winning streak against Edinboro to five games while improving to 6-8 this season with a 3-5 record in conference action. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots fall to 4-9 overall behind a 2-6 mark in league competition.
In addition to the season-high 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, McClurg grabbed five rebounds, collected three steals and tallied two assists. He is currently averaging 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game with a .511 field-goal percentage.
Sophomore
Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) recorded 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals on Wednesday. Redshirt freshman
Donald Whitehead, Jr. (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) tallied 16 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds, while redshirt junior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) registered 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Following layups from Hall and Palek, the Vulcans took a 12-7 lead at the 15:51-mark. The Fighting Scots answered as they conducted a 16-12 rally to cut their deficit to 24-23. Cal was able to claim a double-digit lead after Palek connected from long range on an assist from McClurg with 3:26 to play in the first half. Edinboro finished the half on an 8-4 run as it trailed 41-33 at the break.
The Fighting Scots mounted momentum in the beginning of the second half as they started on a 9-5 run to cut their deficit to 46-42, however, Cal regained its double-figure advantage by scoring eight of the next 10 points. The Vulcans stretched their lead to 16 points on a 14-8 run with 6:48 remaining. Edinboro would not go away easily as it rallied to trail 70-61 on a 9-2 run with less than two minutes left in the game. Cal held the Fighting Scots to only two points in the final minutes of play to hold onto a double-digit victory.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the floor after going 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Edinboro recorded a .393 field-goal percentage (22-of-56) and went 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) from three-point territory. Cal finished with a slight 36-35 rebounding advantage and tallied 17 assists.
Naim Miller led the Fighting Scots with 19 points in addition to three rebounds and three assists. Kierell Green scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Jaden Harper posted 11 points, four rebounds, while Jack Gallagher and Dominique Keyes recorded eight points each.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Jan. 14, as they travel to Erie, Pennsylvania, to face Gannon for a PSAC West matchup at 3 p.m.
