CALIFORNIA, Pa.--- The Golden Eagle men's basketball team played a competitive game early on against #14/18 California (PA), but Clarion ultimately could not keep pace with the nationally-ranked Vulcans in falling by a 95-66 score.
 
The first half featured tough defense, with both teams shooting under 35 percent from the field. Steve Kelly started the night with a transition three off a Justice Easter defensive board and outlet pass, but that would be the only Clarion basket before the first media timeout. The Vulcans did not fare much better, scoring only eight points in that same span. Cal did start to pull away midway through the half, but Cam Kearney responded with a string of makes from inside the three-point line that chipped away at the lead. The last of those came at the 5:02 mark of the half, cutting the deficit to 28-18.
 
Before the final media timeout of the first half, Clarion continued to build momentum. Easter hit a three-pointer off a Kelly assist to bring the deficit under 10 points for the first time since the early portion of the game, making it 32-23. Kelly, who finished with 11 points and three assists, capped his strong first half off with a steal that led directly to a Jeremy Thomas II dunk in the final seconds of the first half, making it a 37-29 Vulcans advantage at the break.
 
The Golden Eagles started the second half strong, cutting the Cal lead down to three points with a sizzling 9-0 run to start things off. Kearney scored have five of his team-high 19 points in this stretch, including a trey off a Thomas II assist to cut it to 41-34. Jayson Harris put the finishing touches on the run with a midrange jumper, cutting the lead to just 41-38 less than two minutes into the second half.
 
The pendulum of momentum swung the other way from that point, though. Things started with a double technical foul assessed against Clarion, and things continued to turn when KJ McClurg drew a foul on a three-pointer, giving him seven free throw makes in the span of 14 seconds of game action. That sparked a huge Vulcan run where their small deficit ballooned to double digits. Cal went on a 22-2 run and led by as many as 30 points the rest of the way en route to the win.
 
The Golden Eagles will wrap up their road trip as they travel up to Erie to face the nationally ranked Gannon Golden Knights on Saturday afternoon.
 
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