CALIFORNIA, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle men's basketball team stabilized in the second half after 10 rocky minutes to close the first half, but Clarion ultimately fell on the road to California (Pa.) 86-68 at the Convocation Center on Wednesday.
 
It was a tough start to the game for the Golden Eagles, as the Vulcans outscored them by 18 points in the first half and outshot them 55.2 – 31.0 percent from the field in that span. Most of that damage came after the midway point of the period, with California going on a late run to build a sizable lead.

Clarion was able to right the ship early in the second half, tightening up offensively and pulling within eight points early in the period. The Golden Eagles trailed 42-24 before a Justice Easter three-pointer at the 17:46 mark, and Gerald Jarmon added a trey of his own on the next possession to make it a 12-point game.
 
Mekhi Reynolds was the next to get in on the action, stealing the ball from KJ McClurg at the 16:39 mark and taking it the other way for a fast break bucket that forced the Vulcans into a timeout. Fray Nguimbi closed the 10-0 run with a fast break make of his own, with Reynolds ripping down a defensive rebound and pushing it ahead for the transition layup. Reynolds kept it a single-digit game with two free throws after the media timeout, but the Vulcans responded with a flurry of points and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
 
Cam Kearney came off the bench to provide the biggest spark to the Golden Eagles, scoring a team-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting and an 8-of-10 night from the free throw line. Steve Kelly also chipped in double-digit points off the bench, scoring 10 on 4-of-7 shooting. Reynolds notched 12 points and two steals while Nguimbi had seven points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
The two sides essentially traded buckets for the first seven minutes of the game, with Nguimbi throwing down a fast break dunk at the 13:07 mark to put Clarion ahead 6-5. It was just a 9-8 lead for the Vulcans after a jumper by Kearney at the 10:54 mark, and Kelly drained a three-pointer just a minute later to knot things up at 11-11. California pulled away with a 9-2 run after that, though, and outscored the Golden Eagles 29-11 the remainder of the half to make it 40-22 at the break.
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