Jan 21, 2007 By Adam Gretz For The 3 min read

CALIFORNIA – California coach Bill Brown believes defense is the only consistent thing in the game of basketball, a philosophy that he stressed on his team from the beginning. He had to be pleased with the stout effort his team displayed Saturday evening as the host Vulcans easily defeated Lock Haven, 78-50, in a PSAC West contest. The Bald Eagles were never really in the game as the Vulcans were able to out-rebound Lock Haven by a 2-to-1 margin during the contest.

“We thought we’d have an advantage with that,” said Brown. “They had been starting some bigger kids in previous games but didn’t really go that way tonight because they didn’t think they’d be able to match-up athletically.”

Leading the way for California was 6-foot-6 junior forward Ron Banks who pulled in a game high seven rebounds. Osborne Gardner and James Petty each finished with five.

“I thought we had some solid play out of James Petty, Rob Ramsey and James Hairston. Hairston missed a couple of dunks but I thought he played consistently for the entire game. And between Petty and Hairston you’ve got two young men that can play really strong defensively.”

Ramsey, a Belle Vernon native and graduate of Geibel Catholic, finished the game with two points, one rebound and a steal. While Hairston, a Connellsville native, finished with eight points, two assists and recorded a game high two blocks in the victory.

“We really needed to get this win today,” said Hairston. “I thought we played a good game defensively and we were able to shut down some of their big scorers because we had such a good scouting report on them and knew where to be.”

Among the key players the Vulcans were able to keep in check was sophomore forward Billy Arre. Arre entered the contest averaging over 23 points per game on the season and was held to just 12 points on Saturday. James Chappell was the only other Lock Haven player able to reach double-digits as he finished with 12 in the loss.

The Vulcans had four players reach double digits in scoring as Petty, John Owens, Theron Colao and Ali Mbaye combined for 44 points on the day. Owens also finished with game highs in assists – with seven – and steals.

California is now riding a seven game winning streak, it’s longest since an eight game streak in December of 2004, and will have an opportunity to extend it Wednesday night when the Vulcans play host to Shippensburg in another PSAC West match-up.

“We just want to keep playing consistent defense and have that carry us on through the season and hopefully into the tournament,” said Brown. “I didn’t think we played perfect tonight, but anytime you can say that and still win by 20 points then you have to look at it as a positive thing.”