CALIFORNIA (Feb. 24) – Behind all five starters scoring in double-digits on Senior Day, the No. 9 Vulcans extended their winning streak to five games with an 83-60 victory over Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.
RECORDS/SERIES
• The California (PA) men's basketball team improves to 23-3 overall with a 17-3 mark in conference action.
• The Lakers fall to 13-15 this season behind a 9-11 record in league play.
• The Vulcans have won five of the last six meetings against the Lakers after Mercyhurst won 12 of the previous 15 meetings in the series.
• Cal sits one-game back of first place in the PSAC West standings with two games left in the regular season.
STATS
• Sophomores
KJ McClurg and
Donald Whitehead, Jr. tied for the team lead with 17 points in the win.
• McClurg became the 36th player in program history reach the 1,000-point milestone.
• He shot 5-of-11 from the floor and five-of-seven from the free-throw line, plus added four rebounds, three assists and three steals on Saturday.
• Whitehead made five-of-seven from the field, including four-of-five from long range, and collected two rebounds and three assists against the Lakers.
• Redshirt sophomore
Bryson Lucas finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals in 26 minutes.
• Senior
Jermaine Hall, Jr. registered 11 points on five-of-eight shooting, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Hall also surpassed both Bernie Floriani (1967-70) and Eric Watson (1996-99) for No. 20 all-time in scoring at Cal with 1,269 points.
• Redshirt senior
Zyan Collins totaled 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in the victory.
GAME ACTION
• Cal raced out to 17-1 lead before Mercyhurst made its initial field goal at the 13:19-mark.
• The Vulcans stretched the advantage to 20 points, 27-7, with 8:46 left in the first half.
• Cal led by as many as 23 points, 38-15, in the first half before taking a 42-22 lead at the break.
• The Lakers were held to just 4-of-27 shooting (14.8 percent) in the opening half on Saturday.
• Cal mounted a 15-6 run early in the second half to expand the lead to 57-30 with 16:04 remaining.
• The Vulcans later led by many as 29 points twice in the second half and maintained a 20-plus point lead for the rest of the contest.
• The Vulcans finished the game shooting 59.6 percent (28-of-47) from the floor, including 8-of-21 (39.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
• The Lakers held a 37-29 rebounding advantage behind 13 offensive rebounds.
• Cal scored 14 fastbreak points and collected 16 assists in the victory.
• Mercyhurst sophomore Luke Triggs led the team with 11 points behind six-of-nine from the free-throw line.
NEXT
• The Vulcans continue their homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 28, when they face IUP in PSAC West action at 7:30 p.m.
