Small college basketball: Cal men, women fall at Shippensburg
Rashon Johnson scored 26 points and Shippensburg closed the game on a 12-5 run to rally and defeat California 77-73 in the PSAC opener for both teams Friday night on the Raiders’ home court.
Cal (0-1, 3-4) led 68-65 with four minutes remaining but was held to one field goal until the final six seconds.
Carlos Carter and Dom Sleva both tossed in 14 points for Shippensburg (1-0, 3-3). Johnson and Sleva each had a double-double. Johnson grabbed 14 rebounds and Sleva had 10. The Raiders had a 15-4 scoring edge off offensive rebounds.
Cal was in position to win the game because of its long-range shooting. The Vulcans made 12 of 29 three-point shots but went to the free-throw line only nine times, making five.
Cam Polak led five Vulcans in double figures with 23 points. He made five three-point shots.
K.J. McClurg followed with 14 points, D.J. Slaughter had 13, Jermaine Hall scored 12 and Keith Palek 10.
Women’s results
Shippensburg 76, California 57: Ariel Jones scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, powering Shippensburg to a 76-57 victory over visiting California in a PSAC game.
Shippensburg (1-0, 5-1), which has won three straight, took control early against the cold-shooting Vulcans, forging leads of 17-13 after one quarter, 35-25 at halftime and 60-42 at the end of three quarters.
Jones scored 12 of her points in the first quarter.
Cal (0-1, 4-2), which had its three-game winning streak snapped, shot only 32 percent and made just three of 22 attempts from three-point range.
Point guard Ciaira Loyd led the Vulcans with 21 points and six assists. Rajah Fink was the only other Cal player to score in double figures. She had 12 points to go with 12 rebounds.