• Box Score

WINTER PARK, Fla. (Dec. 29) – After suffering a five-minute scoreless drought late in the game, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team suffered a 67-57 loss to North Georgia on Thursday evening at the 37th-annual Rotary Park Tangerine Tournament hosted by Rollins (Fla.).

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 6-5 overall after opening the year with five-straight wins. Meanwhile, the Wolves improve to 12-1 this season after receiving votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 poll.

Junior guard Keith Lowe (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) led all players with 15 points after shooting 4-of-11 from the field and seven-of-eight from the free-throw line. He also posted three assists, two rebounds and one block in his second game of the season.

Senior forward Steve Swiech (Greenock, Pa./Elizabeth-Forward) finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in the loss. He was five-of-five from the floor and made two-of-two from the charity stripe. Senior Chad Tipton (Hanover, Pa./South Western) and freshman Tynell Fortune (Harlem, N.Y./Pocono Mountain West (Pa.)) each added eight points against West Georgia on Thursday.

With the Wolves leading midway through the first half, the Vulcans scored six-straight points to take a 19-14 lead on a layup by Lowe at the 8:00-mark. West Georgia worked the deficit down to 27-23 before Cal U mounted an 8-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 35-23 after a trey by Fortune with 3:58 left in the half. The Wolves countered with an 8-0 rally to close the first half, as the Vulcans took a 35-31 lead at the break.

West Georgia cut the deficit to 40-39 early in the second half before Cal U scored eight-straight points to expand its lead to 48-39 on a layup by sophomore Chris Williams (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) with 10:57 remaining. The Vulcans later stretched their lead to 10 points, 52-42, on a pair of free-throws by Swiech at the 7:54-mark. However, the Wolves then mounted a 20-0 rally over five-plus minutes to take a 62-52 lead with 2:50 left in the game. During the scoreless drought, Cal U committed five turnovers and missed four field-goal attempts. After the Vulcans stopped the run, the Wolves scored five-straight points to seal the victory.

Cal U and West Georgia shot similar percentages from the field with the Vulcans making 41.5 percent (22-of-53) and the Wolves shooting 41.9 percent (26-of-62). West Georgia held a slim 37-35 advantage on the glass and scored 14 fastbreak points after forcing Cal U into 18 turnovers.

Senior Da'Ron Sims and freshman Taylor Cochran each scored a team-high 14 points for the Wolves, while senior guard Gavin Field posted 13 points in the win.

The Vulcans continue play at the two-day tournament tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 30, when they play host Rollins in the consolation game at 5 p.m. The Tars suffered a 79-65 loss to Lake Erie (Ohio) in the second game on Thursday night.