• Box Score

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (Jan. 4) – Despite a six-point halftime lead, the Vulcans fell in overtime at Bloomsburg, 67-65, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action Tuesday night.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 6-3 on the season, having dropped two of its last three contests. Meanwhile, Bloomsburg improves to 4-6 in 2010-11 and snaps a two-game losing streak.

Junior forward Steve Swiech (Greenock, Pa./Elizabeth-Forward) scored a season high for the third-straight game, finishing with a team-best 18 points on 8-of-16 from the floor. The Akron transfer also finished tops on the team by grabbing seven rebounds. Over the past three games, the 6-9 forward is averaging 14.7 points and 6.0 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Quentin Harding (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) and junior guard Freddy Appiah (Toronto, Ontario/Ascension of Our Lord) both joined Swiech in double-figures with 16 and 11 points, respectively. Harding shot a season-high 87.5 percent from the free-throw line, converting seven-of-eight attempts. Senior guard Joe Berenato (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) added eight points to go along with four rebounds and two steals.

Cal U finished the first half with a six-point lead (28-22) by shooting 40 percent from the floor (10-of-25). The Vulcans began the second half on a 12-4 run to stretch their lead to 14 points at the 15:47-mark on a fastbreak lay-up by Appiah following a steal by junior guard CJ Townes (Joppatowne, Md./Joppatowne).

Over the next five-plus minutes, Bloomsburg went on an 18-3 run to take its first lead (44-43) since the 13:54-mark of the first half (7-4). The run was capped off by a three-pointer by the Huskies' Jesse Betar. The two teams would play out the end of regulation with a back-and-forth contest in which neither team led by more than three points and featured five ties.

With less than one minute remaining and trailing by one point, Bloomsburg tied the score at 60-60 with 35 seconds left on a free-throw by John Schwarz. Following a 30-second timeout by coach Bill Brown, the Vulcans played for the last shot of the half, a missed trey by Appiah as time expired.

Ten seconds into the overtime period, the Huskies received a good jumper from Schwarz to give them the lead for good. The Vulcans mounted one last rally when Harding buried a jumper as time expired that would have sent the game in to a second overtime, but the shot was waved off, giving Bloomsburg the victory.

For the game, Cal U shot 39.3 percent from the field (22-of-56) and 31.3 percent from three-point range (5-of-16), while holding Bloomsburg to 38.7 percent (24-62) and 29.4 percent (5-17). Despite the seven-of-eight performance by Harding at the free-throw line, the Vulcans only shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the charity stripe. Bloomsburg out-rebounded Cal U 49-30 while pulling in 25 offensive rebounds.

Junior center Larry Webster led four Bloomsburg players in double figures, posting a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds (six offensive). Betar and Schwarz each added 13 points, with Betar connecting on four-of-nine treys.

Cal U continues PSAC Crossover play on Saturday, Jan. 8, when it hosts Kutztown at 3 p.m. Live stats of the game will be available by clicking here.