CLARION, Pa. (Feb. 1) – Despite nearly scoring 60 points in the second half, the Vulcans lost 95-85 on the road at Clarion in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Wednesday night.
With the loss, the California (PA) men's basketball team falls to 9-12 overall and 6-9 in league play, ending their five-game winning streak in the series. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles improve to 3-18 behind a 1-14 mark in conference competition.
Sophomore
Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) registered 26 points as he shot of 8-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc, and six-of-eight from the free-throw line. Additionally, he tallied six rebounds and three blocks while playing 36 minutes on Wednesday. Palek currently ranks third in the league in scoring at 18.0 points per game behind seven 20-point games.
Freshman
KJ McClurg (Morgantown, W.Va./University) notched 19 points and 10 rebounds, marking his fourth double-double of the season along with three steals. Sophomore
Cam Polak (West Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) recorded 16 points and four rebounds, while redshirt junior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) posted 10 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double. Redshirt freshman
Donald Whitehead, Jr. (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) added 10 points, five assists and two rebounds off the bench.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 11-4 advantage after a three-pointer by Justice Easter. Clarion went on to claim its second double-digit lead at 22-12 with 10:39 remaining in the first half. Over the next two minutes, the Golden Eagles executed an 11-2 run to stretch the lead to 33-14. The Vulcans scored nine-unanswered points to trim the deficit to 33-23 at the 5:38-mark, however, Clarion countered by scoring 10 of the next 11 points to take a 43-24 advantage and eventually took a 49-28 lead at the break.
The teams split the opening 20 points of the second half, as the Golden Eagles led by a 59-38 margin. The Vulcans went on a 12-6 rally as they pulled with 15 points with 9:17 left to play. Clarion mounted momentum with a 13-7 run that was capped off by a three-pointer from Cam Kearney at the 5:36-mark. A long-range connection by Palek ignited an 11-0 rally from the Vulcans to the Clarion advantage to 78-68 with 3:24 remaining. Following a three-pointer from Polak off an assist by McClurg, Cal made it a two-possession game. The teams traded the next 14 points as the Golden Eagles held a slight 88-82 edge with less than one minute left to play. Steve Kelly converted four free-throws in the closing seconds to give Clarion a 92-82 lead with 23 seconds left.
The Vulcans shot 35.0 percent (28-of-80) from the field while only converting 18.2 percent (6-of-33) from three-point territory. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles recorded a .475 field-goal percentage (28-of-59) behind a staggering 15-of-32(47.5 percent) from beyond the arc. Clarion held a 45-41 rebounding advantage and tallied 12 assists.
Clarion junior Gerald Jarmon scored 29 points behind 7-of-10 from long range and added three rebounds and one steal. Kearney finished the game with a season-high 26 points in addition to eight rebounds and two assists. Kelly recorded 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Fray Nguimbi tallied 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Cal returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 4, as it travels to face Edinboro in PSAC West action at 3 p.m.
