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CALIFORNIA (Feb. 20) – Behind double-doubles by forwards Kelsey Williams (Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky) and Andrew Young (Philadelphia, Pa./Cheltenham), the Vulcans kept their post-season hopes alive on Saturday night after holding off a second-half rally to claim a 72-68 victory over Edinboro on Alumni and Senior Day in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.

The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team improves to 17-10 overall and 5-7 in league action. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Vulcans are one-game behind defending-conference champion Gannon for the final playoff spot in the PSAC Tournament. Meanwhile, Edinboro drops to 10-15 this season with a 4-8 mark in divisional play.

Senior guard Jerial Nixon (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain Admiral King) scored a team-high 18 points in his final game at Hamer Hall. The 6-1 guard shot 7-of-13 from the floor and four-of-five from the free-throw line against the Fighting Scots. He also collected six rebounds and two steals on Saturday.

Young posted his first double-double with the Vulcans, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Williams registered his third double-double of the season (fifth of his career) behind 12 points and 10 rebounds (five offensive) off the bench.

Junior forward Rashawd Hatten (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) added 12 points and four rebounds off the bench and senior forward Chris Moore (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) posted five rebounds and three blocks on Senior Day. Moore (100) joined Eric Watson (214) and Ryan Boles (103) as the only players in school history to record 100 blocks in a career.

Leading by seven points at halftime, the Vulcans scored the first 10 points of the second half to stretch their lead to 17 points, 43-26, with 17:25 left in the game. The Fighting Scots trimmed the deficit to 50-37 before the Vulcans countered with an 8-2 rally to expand their lead to a game-high 19 points, 58-39. However, Edinboro answered with an 18-4 run over six-plus minutes to cut the deficit to five points, 62-57, with 4:57 remaining.

Edinboro worked the lead down one point, 66-65, before Nixon hit a pair of free-throws with 1:05 left in the game. After forcing a turnover, Young hit a jumper to give the Vulcans a five-point lead, 70-65, with 41 seconds remaining. Freshman guard Ryne Niemiec (Brownsville, Pa./Beth-Center) sealed the win with two free-throws at the 18-second mark.

In the win, Cal U made 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the floor and 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Edinboro shot 35.3 percent (24-of-68) from the field and 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the charity stripe.

Junior guard Byron Knight finished with 18 points for the Fighting Scots while freshman guard Chris Klimchock added 10 points off the bench. Senior forward Justin Moore posted nine points and seven rebounds (six offensive) in the loss.

The Vulcans held a 50-37 advantage on the glass and scored 19 second-chance points after registering 17 offensive rebounds. Cal U also posted a combined seven blocks and finished with 46 points in the paint.

Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 24, when it travels to face Slippery Rock for an 8 p.m. tip-off.

Notes:
Prior to the game, Cal U hosted its annual alumni basketball team. Over a dozen former players participated in the game and alumni activities. The White Team posted a 104-90 victory over the Black Squad at the Alumni Game. Former guard Theron Calao was named the MVP of the game after scoring 54 points (34 in the second half).