CALIFORNIA (Feb. 25) – The Vulcans trimmed a 17-point deficit to just one point in the final seconds on Saturday afternoon against No. 3 IUP before suffering an 80-77 loss in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at the Convocation Center on the final day of the regular season.
With the loss, the California (PA) men's basketball team concludes the regular season with a 15-13 record with a 12-10 mark in league play. The Vulcans finished fourth in divisional standings will now host Seton Hill in the first round of the PSAC Tournament on Monday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, the Crimson Hawks conclude the regular season at 27-1 overall behind a 21-1 conference record. IUP was also the top-ranked team in the NCAA Atlantic regional rankings.
Sophomore
Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) finished with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting and converted five-of-seven free-throw attempts. He eclipsed the 500-point milestone on Saturday, marking the fourth in the last three seasons a player reached the milestone under head coach
Danny Sancomb. Additionally, Palek collected five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 33 minutes on Saturday.
Redshirt junior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) recorded his sixth double-double of the season, as he tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore
Cam Polak (West Homestead, Pa./Steel Valley) posted 13 points behind three-of-six from long range, while freshman
KJ McClurg (Morgantown, W.Va./University) registered 10 points, six rebounds and one steal. Redshirt freshman
Donald Whitehead, Jr. (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) added 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Crimson Hawks gained the early advantage as they claimed a 15-4 edge at the 15:06-mark. IUP went on to stretch its lead to 27-10 after Tomiwa Sulaiman connected on a three-pointer at the 7:47-mark. Cal cut the deficit to 32-21 after an 11-5 rally with 4:20 remaining in the first half. The Crimson Hawks mounted momentum at the end of the half as they conducted a 10-6 run to lead by a 42-27 margin at the break.
Cal grabbed the early advantage in the second half, as it executed a 13-4 rally to trail 46-40 at the 16:37-mark. The teams traded the following 14 points, as IUP maintained a six-point edge at 53-47 before the Crimson Hawks scored seven-consecutive points to hold a 60-47 lead. The Vulcans once again battled back to cut the IUP advantage to single digits after a 12-6 run, 66-59. With 3:28 left to play, a trey by Polak brought the score with one-possession at 72-69, however, Dallis Dillard countered with a three-pointer to make it a 75-69 contest. Over the 1:45 of play, Cal orchestrated a 7-3 rally as a trio of free-throws from Palek trimmed the deficit to 78-77. Shawndale Jones connected on a pair of free-throws to give the Crimson Hawks an 80-77 lead in the final seconds.
The Vulcans shot 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the floor while connecting on 11-of-26 (42.3 percent) of their attempts from three-point territory. Cal also converted on 16-of-19 shots (84.2 percent) from the charity stripe. IUP recorded a .509 field-goal percentage (27-of-53), including 10-of-19 attempts (52.6 percent) long range. The Crimson Hawks held a 36-30 rebounding edge, while the Vulcans collected 14 assists.
Jones finished with a game-high 22 points in addition to five assists, three steals and three rebounds. Dave Morris tallied 20 points, three assist and two steals. Ethan Porterfield scored 18 points while collecting nine rebounds, two assists and one block. Sulaiman added nine points and 10 rebounds.
Cal returns to action on Monday, Feb. 27, as it opens the first round of the PSAC Tournament against fifth-seeded Seton Hill at the Convocation Center with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m.
