JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (Feb. 22) – The Vulcans extended their winning streak to six games on Wednesday night and earned their second road win over a regionally-ranked opponent during the streak with a 91-84 victory at Pitt-Johnstown in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the win, the California (PA) men's basketball team improves to 15-12 this season behind a 12-9 mark in league play. The Vulcans also secured the fourth seed and a first-round home game in next week's PSAC Tournament. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats drop to 19-8 overall with a 15-6 mark in conference play after being slotted sixth in the latest NCAA Atlantic regional rankings.
Freshman
KJ McClurg (Morgantown, W.Va./University) scored a career-high 24 points after shooting 7-of-15 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. Additionally, he tallied eight rebounds, three assists and one steal while playing all 40 minutes on Wednesday. The West Virginia native is averaging 14.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this year while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor.
Redshirt junior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) registered 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting while connecting on a trio of three-pointers. He also finished with six rebounds and five assists on Wednesday. Sophomore
Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) recorded 18 points with four three-pointers, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sophomore
Cam Polak (West Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) posted 15 points and three rebounds, while redshirt freshman
Donald Whitehead, Jr. (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) scored 10 points with four assists and three steals off the bench.
Cal raced out to an early 13-2 advantage after Polak laced a long range shot off an assist from McClurg. UPJ answered with a 16-7 rally to cut the deficit to 20-18 after a three-pointer from Joe Batt with 10:46 to play in the first half. The Vulcans regained a double-digit edge after executing a 10-2 run that was ignited by a pull-up jumper from Polak and capped off by a long-range connection from McClurg, as Cal led by a 30-20 margin with 8:36 left in the half. The Mountain Cats trailed by two-possessions after Andy Zuchelli hit a three-pointer that trimmed the deficit to 40-34. The Vulcans scored four of the last seven points of the half, as they led 44-37 at the break.
The teams went back-and-forth as Cal conducted a slight 10-9 run to open the second half as it held a 54-46 advantage at the 14:23-mark. A mid-range jumper from Zuchelli started a 9-4 rally for the Mountain Cats as they trimmed its deficit to 54-48 with 13:59 left to play. Over the next seven minutes, the Vulcans stretched their advantage to 69-59 after a hook shot from Hall. UPJ was once again able to cut the Cal edge to five points, as John Paul Kromka laced a hook shot of his own, 80-75. The Vulcans maintained their five-point advantage as the teams split the next 18 points, 89-84, before Cal held the Mountain Cats scoreless from the rest of the game.
The Vulcans went 32-of-62 (51.6 percent) from the floor while hitting 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from beyond the arc and converted 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, UPJ recorded a .534 field-goal percentage (31-of-58) while connecting on 35.0 percent (7-of-20) from three-point territory. The Mountain Cats held a 30-28 rebounding edge and collected 21 assists.
Batt finished with a career-high 33 points in addition to four assists and two rebounds. Kromka posted 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal. Jared Jakubick added 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Zuchelli recorded 11 points, three blocks, three rebounds and two assists.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Feb. 25, as they host No. 3 IUP, the top-ranked team in the NCAA Atlantic regional rankings, in league play during the regular-season finale at 3 p.m.
