• Box Score

CALIFORNIA (Dec. 30) – After trailing by as many as 15 points in the second half, the Vulcans rallied to tie the game four times in the final three-plus minutes before suffering a 92-88 loss to Shepherd at Hamer Hall on Thursday night.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 5-2 overall and 3-1 at home this season. Meanwhile, Shepherd improves to 4-6 this season after playing for the first time in nearly two weeks.

Sophomore swingman Quentin Harding (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) scored a season-high 23 points in 32 minutes off the bench. He shot seven-of-nine from the field with three treys and made six-of-eight from the free-throw line. The former McKeesport standout also collected six rebounds (five offensive) against the Rams. He leads the team in scoring and rebounding this season with 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Junior forward John Williams (Baltimore, Md./Mervo) also added 14 points off the bench on seven-of-nine shooting, while classmate Steve Swiech (Greenock, Pa./Elizabeth-Forward) finished with 12 points and six rebounds (four offensive) in his first career start.

Shepherd took a 47-37 lead into halftime after shooting over 65 percent in the first half. After the Vulcans scored the first basket of the second half, the Rams scored seven-straight points to stretch their lead to 15 points, 54-39, with 17:19 remaining. Cal U continually cut the deficit to nine points before trimming the score to 67-60 on a three-point play by junior guard Freddy Appiah (Toronto, Ontario/Ascension of Our Lord) with 9:46 left in the game.

Cal U managed to cut the deficit to one point three times in a 30-second span behind six-straight points by Williams before Harding tied the game on a three-pointer at 81-81 with 3:18 remaining. The Rams responded with a trey before the Vulcans tied the game at 84-84 following a free-throw. The two teams traded points with Cal U tying the game at 88-88 with only 53 seconds left. Shepherd then took the lead with 32 seconds second left on a lay-up and after Harding missed a jumper on the ensuing possession, the Rams sealed the win with two free-throws in the closing seconds.

The Vulcans posted one of their best shooting performances of the season from the field, making 53.4 percent of their shots and 46.2 percent from three-point range. However, Cal U shot a season-low 52.6 percent (20-of-38) from the charity stripe compared to Shepherd making 74.4 percent (32-of-43) from the free-throw line. In the game, the Rams made a blistering 59.5 percent (25-of-42) from the floor behind an astounding 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from beyond the arc.

Shepherd out-rebounded Cal U by a 33-28 margin and scored 20 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds. In the loss, the Vulcans collected 11 steals, forced 19 turnovers and scored 26 points off turnovers. Cal U recorded 17 assists on 31 field-goals behind a team-high five by junior guard CJ Townes (Joppatowne, Md./Joppatowne).

Freshman guard Brantley Osborne led the Rams with a game-high 25 points behind five three-pointers and added eight rebounds and five assists. Sophomore forward Chad Moore finished with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds.

The Vulcans return to action on Monday, Jan. 3, when they travel to face Mansfield in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.