CALIFORNIA (Jan. 18) - The California (PA) men's basketball team came up short in the final seconds on Wednesday night, as it suffered a 66-65 loss to Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 7-9 overall with a 4-6 record in conference play. Meanwhile, the Lakers improve to 12-2 behind an 8-2-mark in league play.
Redshirt freshman Donald Whitehead, Jr. (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) scored a season-high 25 points, as he shot 10-of-15 from the field while connecting on four-of-seven from beyond the arc. Additionally, he registered a game-best five assists with a two steals off the bench. The Hickory product is averaging 13.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game this season.
Sophomore Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) registered 19 points and made a trio of shots from behind the three-point line, in addition to 10 boards, three assists and one block, marking his fourth double-double of the year. Redshirt junior Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) tallied 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds with two assists. Freshman KJ McClurg (Morgantown, W.Va./University) grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds.
Mercyhurst scored six-unanswered points to start the game until a mid-range jumper by Polak started a 7-0 run by the Vulcans that was finished off by a dunk from Palek. Over the next two minutes, the contest featured five lead changes while the Lakers stretched their lead to 17-12 after two-straight long-range connections. Cal went on a 7-2 rally as it tied the game at 19-19 with 10:48 left in the first half. The Vulcans extended their lead to 26-22 following a 7-2 run, however, Mercyhurst answered with a 6-2 rally to tie the game 28-28 with less than five minutes remaining. Cal scored seven of the next 13 points as it held a slight 35-34 advantage at the 1:57-mark. In the closing seconds, Michael Bradley hit a mid-range jumper to give the Lakers a 36-35 lead at the break.
Mercyhurst mounted momentum at the beginning of the second half as it scored five consecutive points to claim a 41-35 edge. The Lakers extended their lead to double figures following a 7-3 rally with 13 minutes to play. The teams split the next 10 points as Mercyhurst led by a 53-43 margin. The Vulcans trimmed their deficit to seven points after Whitehead laced a three-pointer with three minutes left in the game. With less than two minutes to play, Palek connected from deep to pull Cal within four points at 64-60 followed by a pair of free throws by Hall to make it a one possession game. The Vulcans fell short to tie or gain a lead in the final critical possession.
Cal shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field while hitting on 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from three-point territory. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst recorded a shooting percentage of .397 (25-of-63) from the floor while only hitting 32.0 percent (8-of-25) from beyond the arc.
Jeff Planutis led the Lakers with 22 points in addition to three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Nicholas Lang recorded 11 points along with seven boards and a pair of assists. Michael Bradley added nine points, four rebounds and one assist.
The Vulcans are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 21, as they travel to face IUP, the top-ranked team in the country, starting at 3 p.m.
