• Box Score

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (Feb. 15) – The Vulcans trimmed a 16-point deficit to four points in the final minute on Wednesday night before suffering a 57-51 loss to Slippery Rock at Morrow Field House in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 14-11 overall. The Vulcans are now tied with Clarion for the fourth place in the divisional standings at 11-8 with three games left in the regular season. Meanwhile, Slippery Rock improves to 16-7 this season and holds a two-game lead for third place in the standings behind a 13-6 conference mark.

Senior forward Steve Swiech (Greenock, Pa./Elizabeth-Forward) scored a team-high 19 points on 8-of-12 attempts from the field. He also led the team with nine rebounds (three offensive) on Wednesday night. Over the last five games, Swiech is averaging 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

Senior Douglas Jr. Appiah (Toronto, Ontario/Ascension of Our Lord) tied his career high with 16 points after shooting four-of-nine from the field, including three-of-four from beyond the arc, and five-of-seven from the free-throw line. Freshman forward Jeremy Posey (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) finished with eight rebounds and two steals while playing 20 minutes off the bench.

Trailing 10-2 in the opening minutes, Cal U cut the deficit to 13-7 after Swiech converted a traditional three-point play with just over 13 minutes remaining. Leading 19-14, The Rock scored seven-unanswered points to take a 26-14 lead at the 3:30-mark in the first half. Cal U trailed 30-16 with 2:12 remaining in the half before mounting a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 32-23 at the break.

After a lay-up by Swiech to start the second half, The Rock mounted a 10-1 run over nearly four minutes to stretch their lead to 42-26 with 14:48 left in the game. Cal U then posted a 9-3 rally over five-plus minutes to cut the deficit to 45-35 after a jumper by Swiech at the 8:12-mark. After three points by The Rock, the Vulcans cut the deficit to single digits at 48-43 with 4:05 remaining behind a traditional three-point play by Swiech. Slippery Rock snapped a five-minute scoreless drought with a pair of free-throws to take a 50-43 lead with 1:36 left before Cal U answered with a three-pointer by Appiah at the 1:21-mark to trim the deficit to 50-46. However, The Rock made a 5-2 run to take a 55-48 lead before Appiah made two-of-three free-throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt. The two teams then traded free-throws in the final seconds before Slippery Rock earned the 57-51 victory.

In the loss, the Vulcans shot a season-low 30.8 percent (16-of-52) from the field and made 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from three-point territory. In comparison, the Rock made 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the floor and 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from long range.

Slippery Rock held a 50-38 advantage on the glass and scored 22 second-chance points after collecting 20 offensive rebounds. Cal U collected a season-low seven assists with a team-high four assists from redshirt junior Travon Vann (Frederick, Md./St. John's Catholic Prep).

Senior Devin Taylor scored a game-high 24 points after making 8-of-16 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. Junior guard Aubin Reeves added 10 points and three assists, while junior forward Tabari Perry collected a team-high 10 rebounds.

Cal U continues its road trip on Saturday, Feb. 18, when it travels to face Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa., at 1 p.m. Live stats of the game will be available by clicking here.