CALIFORNIA (Feb. 14) – The No. 14 Vulcans mounted a dominating eight-minute run midway through the second half to roll to a 95-66 win over Clarion in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center on Wednesday night.
RECORDS/SERIES
• The California (PA) men's basketball team improves to 21-3 overall with a 15-3 mark in conference action.
• The Golden Eagles fall to 7-17 this season behind a 5-13 record in league play.
• The Vulcans have won seven of the last eight meetings in the series, plus have won 13 of the last 15 meetings at home.
STATS
• Sophomore
KJ McClurg scored a game-high 22 points behind 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.
• He also collected 10 rebounds and three steals for his first double-double of the year.
• Redshirt senior
Zyan Collins added 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in the victory.
• Sophomore
Donald Whitehead, Jr. finished with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including three-of-six from long range, and four rebounds on Wednesday.
• Redshirt sophomore
Bryson Lucas registered nine points, six rebounds and two steals in 20 minutes of action.
• Senior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. posted seven points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals against the Golden Eagles.
• Junior
Keith Palek III totaled eight points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.
GAME ACTION
• Cal started the game on 18-5 run over near nearly eight minutes, as Clarion made just two of its initial 13 field goals.
• The Vulcans later stretched the lead to 26-10 at the 8:47-mark of the first half.
• Clarion eventually countered with a 13-4 rally to cut the deficit to 32-25 with 2:58 left before the break.
• Cal took a 37-29 lead into the break after both teams shot under 35 percent from the floor.
• The Golden Eagles posted a 9-2 run early in the second half to make it a single-possession contest, 43-40, with 16:35 remaining.
• However, Clarion was whistled for a double-technical foul just four seconds later that sparked a run of 14-unanswered points by Cal with the Vulcans taking a 57-40 lead with 14:20 left to play.
• The Vulcans later mounted 17-4 rally to expand the lead to 28 points, 74-46, at the 8:57-mark.
• Cal took its largest lead of the game at 87-56 with 4:14 remaining.
• The Vulcans made 13-of-20 field-goals and eight different players scored during a 44-16 run in the eight minutes following the double-technical.
• Cal shot over 55 percent in the second half and finished the game with a .451 field-goal percentage (32-of-71).
• The Vulcans posted a plus-13 rebounding advantage in the game and scored 15 second-chance points.
• Cal also tallied 20 points off turnovers and scored 40 points in the paint in the win.
• Clarion sophomore Cam Kearney led the team with 19 points and added eight rebounds.
NEXT
• The Vulcans are idle this weekend before returning to action on Wednesday, Feb. 21, when they travel to face Pitt-Johnstown in PSAC West play at 7:30 p.m.
