CALIFORNIA (Jan. 29) – The California (PA) men's basketball team earned a tightly contested 78-74 win against IUP in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center
NOTES
• The Vulcans (11-10, 6-7) close the opening round of divisional play in a three-way tie for fourth place in the PSAC West standings, just one game back of a tie for second.
• Cal has won three-straight meetings against IUP for the first time since the 2006-08 campaigns.
• The Crimson Hawks (10-10, 6-7) also sit tied for fourth in the divisional standings.
• Redshirt junior
Cam Polak scored a game-high 25 points on 7-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
• He also led the team with eight rebounds and registered two blocks while playing 38 minutes.
• Freshman
Jordyn Buchanan finished with 18 points on seven-of-eight shooting, including four-of-five from beyond the arc, four rebounds and two assists.
• Classmate
Keondre DeShields posted 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench.
• Senior
Kadyn Hannah tallied eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win.
• Junior
Donald Whitehead, Jr. posted 12 points and five assists against the Crimson Hawks.
• The first half featured a combined eight lead changes and 13 ties with no team possessing a lead larger than five points.
• The score was tied at halftime, 39-39, after both teams shot similar percentages and tallied nearly identical rebounds.
• Cal took a 44-41 lead with 17:26 left to play and maintained the advantage for the duration of the game.
• The Vulcans built the margin to as many as nine points twice with the Crimson Hawks cutting the deficit to a single possession both times.
• IUP scored seven-straight points over two minutes to make it a 74-72 contest with 30 seconds remaining.
• The Vulcans then converted all four free-throws over the final 17 seconds to preserve their third-straight home victory.
• Cal finished the game shooting 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the floor and converted an 81.0 clip (17-of-21) from the free-throw line.
• The Vulcans scored 18 second-chance points while totaling 40 rebounds and setting a season high with six blocks against IUP.
NEXT
• The Vulcans begin the second round of divisional play when they host Gannon on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 3 p.m.
• The division-leading Golden Knights have lost back-to-back league games after starting PSAC play with 11-consecutive victories.
