SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (Jan. 7) – The Vulcans were unable to overcome a late first-half rally on Saturday afternoon, as they suffered a 96-71 defeat at Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the loss, the California (PA) men's basketball team drops to 5-8 overall and 2-5 in conference play. Meanwhile, The Rock extends its home game winning streak to 12 games and advances to 11-2 this season behind a 5-2 mark in league action.
Redshirt junior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) led the team with 20 points after going 9-of-14 from the field for his fourth 20-point performance of the year. Hall also paced the team with six rebounds while playing 31 minutes on Saturday. Hall ranks among the top 10 in the PSAC this season in scoring at 17.2 points per game after averaging 11.6 points per game through the previous two seasons of his career.
Freshman
KJ McClurg (Morgantown, W.Va./University) registered 14 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals, while redshirt freshman
Donald Whitehead, Jr. (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) posted 12 points and tied a game-high five assists. Sophomore
Cam Polak (West Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) added nine points and three rebounds in the losing effort.
Following a three-pointer from Hall, the Vulcans lead by a 11-10 margin at the 14:31-mark in the first half. Over the next 10 minutes, The Rock executed a 26-13 rally to seize a 36-24 edge. Slippery Rock extended its lead to 43-24 after tallying the next three baskets with 2:58 remaining in the first half. The teams split the final eight points of the half as the Rock led by a 47-30 margin at the break.
Slippery Rock continued to apply pressure as it mounted an 8-2 run to open the second half and led 55-32. Cal answered with a 16-2 rally to trim its deficit to 57-46 at the 13:26-mark. The Rock regained momentum as it conducted a 16-11 rally with nine minutes to play. Slippery Rock stretched its lead to 89-65 at the 3:31-mark before finishing the game on a 7-6 run.
Cal finished the game shooting 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the floor after going 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, The Rock recorded a staggering .633 field-goal percentage (38-of-60) and went 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) from three-point territory. Slippery Rock finished with a 32-23 rebounding advantage and tallied 17 assists.
Rock graduate student Amante Britt notched a game-high 23 points with five assists and two rebounds. Senior Jonathan McFall tallied 22 points, three rebounds and three steals in the victory. Junior transfer Khalid Gates posted 14 points and a pair of steals, while redshirt freshman Jomo Goings added 11 points and three rebounds.
The Vulcans return to action Wednesday, Jan. 11, as they host Edinboro in PSAC West play at 7:30 p.m.
