• Box Score

CALIFORNIA (Feb. 12) – Senior Rashawd Hatten (Clairton, Pa./Clairton) and junior Steve Swiech (Greenock, Pa./Elizabeth-Forward) combined for 26 second-half points on Saturday night, as the Vulcans narrowly fell, 85-76, to No. 19 Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at Hamer Hall.

With its third-straight loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team drops to 11-10 overall and 4-6 in divisional play. The Vulcans are currently tied with Clarion and Edinboro for fourth place in the PSAC West standings entering the final two weeks of the regular season. Meanwhile, the Lakers remain unbeaten in league play at 10-0 and improve to 19-3 this season.

Hatten finished with a team-high 16 points off the bench after making six-of-nine attempts from the field. After playing only five minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, he tallied 15 points after the break. Swiech scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half and finished with seven rebounds (four offensive).

Sophomore Quentin Harding (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) posted his second double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while junior swingman Chad Tipton (Hanover, Pa./South Western) added 12 points and four rebounds.

Trailing by 10 points with three-plus minutes left in the first half, Cal U went on a 10-4 run and scored the last four points to enter the break down 43-39. The Lakers opened the second half on a quick 9-1 rally in the first two minutes to stretch their lead to 12 points, 52-40.

Cal U countered by scoring on its next five possessions to trim the deficit to seven points, 58-51. Mercyhurst responded by scoring seven-unanswered points over a three-minute span to take a 65-51 lead at the 11:35-mark. The Vulcans were unable to keep the game in single digits until the final four-plus minutes of the game.

Following a Laker free-throw that made it 78-67, Cal U went on a 9-0 run behind six free-throws from Swiech. Junior guard Freddy Appiah (Toronto, Ontario/Ascension of Our Lord), who led the team with four assists, made it a 78-76 contest on a free-throw with 1:13 remaining before the Lakers sealed the victory by scoring the final seven points of the game.

After shooting over 50 percent in the first half, the Vulcans finished the game shooting at a 43.9 clip (25-of-57) from the field. In comparison, the Lakers made an impressive 60.0 percent (27-of-45) from the floor despite not making a three-pointer in the second half.

Mercyhurst held a slim 33-32 advantage in rebounds and scored 42 of its points from in the paint, but Cal U scored 18 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds. The Vulcans tied their season low with 12 turnovers in the loss.

Sophomore Luis Leao paced five Lakers in double-figures with a game-high 19 points after shooting seven-of-eight from the field and five-of-seven from the free-throw line. Senior Heiden Ratner, the leading scorer in the PSAC, finished with 17 points and classmate Jason Snow added 12 points and a game-high eight assists.

The Vulcans return to non-conference action on Monday, Feb. 14, when they host Salem International for a 7 p.m. start. Live stats of the game will be available by clicking here.