INDIANA, Pa. (Jan. 29) – The No. 17 California (PA) men's basketball team snapped a 21-game losing streak to IUP with a 65-57 road victory against the Crimson Hawks on Monday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
RECORDS/SERIES
• The Vulcans improve to 17-2 this season behind an 11-2 record in league play.
• The Crimson Hawks fall to 13-6 overall with a 10-3 mark in conference action.
• Cal earned its first win in the series against IUP since Jan. 18, 2014.
• The Vulcans also snapped a 12-game losing streak at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, which included four post-season meetings over the last three seasons.
STATS
• Sophomore
KJ McClurg scored a team-high 16 points and also added eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.
• Senior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. registered his third double-double this month with 11 points and 10 rebounds, plus collected four assists and three steals, in the victory.
• Sophomore
Donald Whitehead, Jr. finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes off the bench.
• Junior
Keith Palek III posted nine points, six rebounds and three assists while playing 20 minutes on Monday.
GAME ACTION
• The Crimson Hawks posted a 7-2 run early in the first half to take a 9-5 lead at the 12:20-mark.
• Cal later countered with 10-unanswered points to seize a 19-13 lead with 1:35 left in the first half.
• IUP snapped a six-plus minute scoreless drought with 1:13 remaining.
• The Vulcans held a 21-18 lead at halftime after both teams shot under 25 percent from the floor.
• Cal held a 30-23 lead early in the second half before IUP mounted a 14-2 run to claim its largest lead of the game at 37-32 with 12:16 left to play.
• The Vulcans responded with a 13-2 rally to reclaim the lead at 45-39 at the 9:13-mark.
• Cal later led by as many as eight points, 52-44, before IUP cut the deficit to 57-54 with 2:32 remaining.
• The Vulcans converted all six free-throw attempts in the final two-plus minutes to seal the win.
• Cal finished the game shooting just 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor while also converting 22-of-26 free-throw attempts (84.6 percent).
• IUP junior Garvin Clarke – a transfer from Akron – led all players with 21 points on 7-of-23 shooting and added 15 rebounds.
NEXT
• The Vulcans close out the opening round of PSAC West play on Wednesday, Jan. 31, when they host Edinboro at the Convocation Center, starting at 7:30 p.m.
