SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. (March 8) – The Vulcans were unable to withstand a torrid second-half shooting performance on Saturday afternoon and were eliminated from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament with an 84-74 loss in the semifinals by host Shepherd.

With the loss, the California (PA) men's basketball team drops to 18-12 overall while appearing in the semifinals of the conference tournament in back-to-back years. The Vulcans were positioned ninth in the latest NCAA Atlantic regional rankings on Wednesday and await a possible at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament following the conclusion of multiple championship tournaments. Meanwhile, the Rams improve to 21-10 overall and advance to host Gannon in the finals of the PSAC Tournament tomorrow, Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m.

Junior Donald Whitehead, Jr. led the team with 23 points, including 15 in the first half. He eclipsed the 500-point milestone for the first time in his career on Saturday and has tallied 505 points this season. Whitehead added a pair of rebounds and two assists while playing all 40 minutes at Shepherd.

Redshirt junior Cam Polak registered a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds (five offensive) in the loss. He now sits among top 20 in single-season school history with 544 points. Freshman Keondre DeShields added 14 points and four rebounds off the bench, while classmate Jordyn Buchanan tallied nine points and 10 rebounds despite battling foul trouble in the second half.  

The Vulcans raced out an 8-0 lead before the Rams made their initial basket of the game at the 16:25-mark, which forced sophomore Dalman Alexander to the bench with two fouls. The field goal sparked a 12-4 run by Shepherd that tied the score at 12-12 with 13:24 left in the first half. Cal then went on a 9-2 rally to seize a 21-14 lead on a layup by Whitehead with 10:40 remaining before the break. The Rams responded by cutting the deficit to 28-27 at the 3:27-mark after holding the Vulcans scoreless for three minutes. Senior Kadyn Hannah was forced to the bench just over a minute later, as starting forwards Alexander and Hannah combined for under 16 minutes played in the first half due to foul trouble. Cal closed the half on a 10-2 run to take 38-29 lead at the break after holding Shepherd to a .324 field-goal percentage (12-of-37) over the initial 20 minutes.

Shepherd opened the second half on a 19-4 rally after making eight of 10 field-goal attempts to claim a 48-42 lead at the 14:15-mark. The Vulcans went a span of 5:27 without a field goal before a layup by Whitehead on the next possession. Shepherd later mounted a 15-4 run, highlighted by a trio of three-pointers in a span of just over a minute, to extend the lead to 67-53 with 8:07 left to play. Buchanan was forced to the bench during that span after being whistled for his fourth foul. Freshman Duncan Moy later converted a pair of three-pointers to cut the deficit to 71-62 with 4:43 remaining before the Vulcans were held without a field goal for two-plus minutes. Cal trimmed the deficit to single digits with 90 seconds left to play before Shepherd sealed the victory at the free-throw line.

The Vulcans finished game shooting 34.7 percent (25-of-72) from the floor after making just a 28.9 clip in the second half. Meanwhile, the Rams converted a 62.1 percent in the second half and closed the game with a .455 field-goal percentage (30-of-66). Shepherd held a slight 44-43 rebounding advantage and scored 42 points in the paint. The teams combined for only 10 turnovers and the host Rams were credited with 15 assists.

Shepherd sophomore Marcus Banks scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting and added seven rebounds and eight assists. Senior Carson Poffenberger recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while graduate student Chase Parr finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

The field for the NCAA Tournament will be announced live tomorrow, Sunday, March 9, at 11 p.m. EST.