ERIE, Pa. (Jan. 27) – The No. 17 Vulcans started the game with 15-straight points and shot nearly 60 percent while rolling to a 77-60 win at Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play on Saturday afternoon.
RECORDS/SERIES
• The California (PA) men's basketball team improves to 16-2 overall with a 10-2 mark in conference action.
• The Lakers have lost four of their last five games to fall to 9-11 this season behind a 5-7 record in league play.
• The Vulcans have won the last three road games in the series after previously winning only once at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center since the Lakers joined the PSAC (1-13).
STATS
• Redshirt senior
Zyan Collins led the team with a season-high 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting.
• He also added seven rebounds and two assists while playing 38 minutes on Saturday.
• Sophomore
KJ McClurg scored 19 points on 6-of-10 from the floor, plus tallied seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Senior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. finished with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals against the Lakers.
• Redshirt sophomore
Bryson Lucas registered eight points and six rebounds while playing 28 minutes.
GAME ACTION
• Cal raced out to a 15-0 lead over the opening nine-plus minutes of the game.
• The Lakers missed their initial eight shots and committed eight turnovers before scoring their first points at the 10:26-mark.
• Mercyhurst made a trio of three-pointers in a two-minute span to cut the deficit to 18-12 with 7:34 left before halftime.
• Cal later stretched the lead back to double-digits at 30-17 with 1:38 remaining before taking a 30-22 lead at the break.
• The Vulcans made six-consecutive field goals to mount a 14-3 run early in the second half while expanding the lead to 46-27 at the 15:16-mark.
• Mercyhurst worked the deficit to 13 points, 54-41, before Cal countered with a 12-2 rally to seize a 66-43 advantage with 7:34 left to play.
• Cal finished the game shooting 59.2 percent (29-of-49) from the floor.
• The Vulcans held a sizeable plus-12 rebounding advantage (30-18) and scored 36 points in the paint.
• Mercyhurst junior Aidan Reichert led the team with 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
NEXT
• The Vulcans return to action on Monday, Jan. 29, when they travel to face four-time, defending-PSAC Champion IUP at 7:30 p.m.
