CALIFORNIA (March 15) – The second-seeded Vulcans shot over 60 percent in the second half on Friday evening while posting a 96-80 win over seventh-seeded West Virginia State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Convocation Center.

With the victory, the No. 8 California (PA) men's basketball team improves to 28-4 overall – matching its most wins since capturing the regional title in 2008. The Vulcans advance to face third-seeded Charleston (W.Va.) tomorrow, Saturday, March 16, in the second round at 7:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets finish the season with a 20-10 mark.

Sophomore KJ McClurg led the team with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including three-of-five from long range, while playing all 40 minutes. He also added three rebounds, five assists and two steals in the victory. McClurg joined Kenney Toomer (1991-92) and Ray Gutierrez (1992-93) as the only players in school history to amass at least 700 points in a season (723).

Senior Jermaine Hall, Jr.  tallied 22 points (16 second half) on 7-of-11 from the floor, including three-of-five from long range, and five-of-five from the free-throw line. He also posted eight rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes on Friday. Sophomore Donald Whitehead, Jr. finished with 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting and three assists while playing all 40 minutes, while redshirt sophomore Bryson Lucas added 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block and three steals over 22 minutes.

Whitehead sparked a 15-3 run by the Vulcans early in the first half to take a 21-11 lead at the 9:32-mark. During the run, WVSU was held to just 1-of-12 shooting and committed four turnovers. Yellow Jacket standout Anthony Pittman then scored all eight of the team's points over two minutes to cut the deficit to a 27-21 mark with 6:46 left in the first half. Cal built its lead back to double-digits, 34-24, with 4:26 remaining on a dunk by Lucas. WVSU responded with a 10-3 rally to make it a single-possession contest, 37-34, at the 1:47-mark before Cal took a 42-36 lead at halftime.

Cal scored the initial basket of the second half before WVSU cut the deficit to 55-51 with 15:51 left to play. The Vulcans later posted a 22-9 run, behind 10 points by Hall, to take a commanding 80-62 lead at the 6:31-mark. Cal maintained a double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the game, as WVSU managed to only cut the deficit to 12 points twice.

The Vulcans shot 63.0 percent (17-of-27) in the second half and finished the game with a .561 field-goal percentage (32-of-57). Cal also converted 24-of-28 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe in the victory. The Yellow Jackets made 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor on Friday. Cal held a 34-27 rebounding advantage and collected 18 assists against WVSU.

Pittman scored a game-high 30 points on 10-of-19 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. A three-time, first-team all-conference selection, he finished his collegiate career with 1,961 points and 1,058 rebounds. Sophomore Miguel Martinez added 11 points and six rebounds in the losing effort.

Cal continues play in the NCAA Tournament tomorrow when it hosts No. 7 Charleston at 7:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles captured the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship last weekend before rolling to a 93-55 victory over sixth-seeded Concord on Friday in the NCAA Tournament.