Mar 4, 2026 By Chris Dugan 3 min read

CALIFORNIA – The Shepherd University men’s basketball team is adept at slowing the pace of a game to that of a world class chess match. Patience is taught at the PSAC’s only non-Pennsylvania institution along with jump shots, rebounding and defense.

In the PSAC quarterfinals Wednesday night at the Convocation Center against California, Shepherd planned to play its style of basketball – a half-court game and keep the scores in the 60’s.

However, instead of a slow-paced affair, Shepherd experienced playing with speed and walked into a master class of Fast Break Basketball 101. The instructors were Cal’s starting five.

Jordyn Buchanan and Bryson Lucas each had a double-double, Cal had six players score at least nine points and the Vulcans cruised to an 81-56 victory.

The win was the 20th of the season for California (20-8) and sends the Vulcans into the semifinals Saturday against Seton Hill (18-12) at Gannon.

Shepherd had eliminated California in the PSAC semifinals last year, a fact that wasn’t forgotten by the Vulcans’ Dalmon Alexander, who was one of the few healthy players Cal had remaining on its roster at this time a season ago.

“The guys were prepared. We knew what we were going against,” said Alexander, who had 15 points.

“We let everybody know what happened (against Shepherd) last year, even the guys who didn’t play. We wanted to bring the fight to them. We had that (loss) in the back of our mind.”

This time, California was in control from the start. The Vulcans made their first three shots while Shepherd missed its first four. By the time the Rams finally made a shot and got out of the starting blocks, the track meet was already on.

California led 50-35 at halftime, and to illustrate what kind of game it was one had to only look at the statistics sheet at intermission and find the numbers next to Fast-Break Points: California 28, Shepherd 0. Cal finished with a 30-2 edge in fast-break points.

The way the game started also helped Cal forget a disappointing one-sided loss to Slippery Rock in the regular-season finale on Saturday.

“Shepherd is a half-court team with a point guard who can create offense. The fast start … everybody was disappointed by last Saturday,” Cal head coach Danny Sancomb said. “Everybody was locked in and ready to go tonight.”

Shepherd’s offense in the first half was limited to point guard Marcus Banks, one of the best players in the PSAC’s East Division, working off a ball screen and driving to the basket. He scored 17 of his career-high 32 points before halftime. Banks was 12-for-14 at the free-throw line and was credited with drawing 10 of Cal’s 19 personal fouls.

“He had a lot of points, but I think we did a good job against him,” Sancomb said. “We made him work hard.”

Everything worked for the Vulcans. Cal shot 49 percent for the game and held Shepherd (20-10) to 17 percent shooting in the second half. The Rams never got closer than 12 points after halftime.

Buchanan led Cal with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Lucas played an outstanding all-around game for Cal. He scored 15 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, had four assists and three steals.

Point guard Brayden Reynolds contributed 13 points and eight assists, and Antoine Arnett and Keondre DeShields each pumped in nine points.

“At this point in the season, we know what we do best,” Lucas said. “We’re trusting each other and when we do that we play well.”