Edinboro, Pa. – The Edinboro men's basketball team used a late run to pull away from visiting California (Pa.) earning a key 93-85 victory over the Vulcans Saturday afternoon in PSAC West play inside McComb Fieldhouse.
With 5:55 to play, Donald Whitehead Jr. hit a layup to cut the Edinboro lead to 71-70.
Evan Berger hit a 3-pointer on the next Edinboro possession to spark a 10-2 run capped by a
Ryan Ladjevich trey to make the lead 81-72 with 3:15 to play. Cam Polak hit a 3-pointer for the Vulcans to trim the lead 81-75, but the Scots scored five straight to their own to push the lead to 86-75 after a
Cenker Evran free throw at the 1:01 mark.
Cal pulled within five 90-85 on Whitehead 3-pointer with 17 seconds left, but
Steve Kelly hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to ice the victory for the Scots.
The teams traded baskets in the first half with neither team holding a two-possession lead until a Keondre DeShields layup made it 16-12 Cal with 12:45 left in the first half. Edinboro answered with a 10-2 run capped by a
Daunte Wilcott layup at the 10:51 mark to go ahead 22-18.
The Vulcans retook the lead 25-24 on a Whitehead and-one free throw at the 7:43 mark. The Scots scored the next eight points led by four from Evran to take a 32-25 lead with 5:46 left in the opening half. Five straight points for Cal trimmed the lead to 32-30. Kelly hit a trey and then notched a layup to extend the advantage back to 37-30 with 4:16 on the clock. Cal pulled within one twice in the final 1:23 of the half, but a
Jonathan Anderson layup with 18 seconds remaining in the first sent Edinboro into the break, up 45-42.
With 13:55 to play in the game, Jordyn Buchanan hit a 3-pointer to pull Cal within two, 58-56. The Scots responded with an 8-2 run with three points each for Ladjevich and Kelly and a layup for Wilcott to push the lead back to 66-58 at the 10:51 mark. DeShields hit a 3-poitner to pull the Vulcans within 66-61, but a layup by Berger and a Ladjevich trey put Edinboro back ahead 71-61 at the 8:47 mark. Cal scored the next nine points capped by the Whitehead triple to trim the lead to 71-70 with 5:55 to play.
Kelly led all scorers with 24 points. Evran notched a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds to go with three steals, two assists and a block. Ladjevich tallied 19 points off the bench also grabbing seven rebounds.
Bryce Baez was the fourth Scot to score in double figures with 16 points to go with five boards.
Whitehead and Polak each notched 21 points to lead the Vulcan offense. Buchanan finished with 19 points and a team-high six rebounds.
The Scots are back in action on Wednesday with a trip to Slippery Rock. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
