• Box Score

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (Dec. 1) – Senior guard Keith Lowe (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) scored a career-high 25 points on Saturday afternoon and the Vulcans erased an 11-point halftime deficit before dropping an 83-78 contest at West Chester in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 1-3 overall after winning the season-opener. The three losses by the Vulcans this year have been by a combined eight points. Meanwhile, West Chester improves to 3-2 this year after being selected second in the preseason PSAC East poll.

Lowe led all players with 25 points on 10-of-18 attempts from the floor, including four-of-seven from beyond the arc. He also collected seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in the losing effort. The Vulcans have featured a 25-point scorer in back-to-back back games for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Sophomore guard Tynell Fortune (Harlem, N.Y./Pocono Mountain West (Pa.)) finished with 14 points and six assists in his first start of the year and third career. He made 5-of-10 attempts from the field with a pair of three-pointers against the Golden Rams. Senior Quentin Harding (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) posted his first double since March 2011, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Trailing 37-26 at halftime, Cal U opened the second half on a 9-4 run to trim the deficit to 41-35 on a jumper by Harding with 17:21 remaining. The Golden Rams countered with an 11-3 run over three-plus minutes to take a 52-38 lead with 14:12 left to play. The Vulcans answered with a 13-4 rally to cut the deficit to single digits, 56-51, on another jumper by Harding with 10:54 remaining.

Cal U later trimmed the deficit to a single-possession before taking a 71-70 lead on a 9-3 run capped by a pair of free-throws by junior Chris Williams (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt).The Golden Rams scored on their next three possessions to take a 76-71 lead with 49 seconds remaining before a three-pointer by Lowe cut the deficit to 78-75 with 18 seconds left. West Chester made one of two free-throws in the closing seconds to take an 81-78 lead before the potential game-tying three-pointer by Cal U was unsuccessful.

After shooting over 60 percent in the second half, the Vulcans finished the game making 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field and 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from three-point territory. The Golden Rams shot similar percentages on Saturday, shooting 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor and 31.6 percent from beyond the arc. West Chester held a 37-33 edge on the glass and scored 17 second-chance points.

Sophomore Corey Blake recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds and was one of five Golden Rams to score in double-digits.

Cal U continues PSAC Crossover play tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 2, when it travels to face Cheyney at 3 p.m.