• Box Score

CALIFORNIA (Nov. 30) – Facing one of the top three-point shooting teams in the region, the Vulcans suffered a 76-61 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan after the Bobcats made 12 treys on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 1-5 overall. The Vulcans have lost three-straight games since winning their home-opener on Nov. 12. Meanwhile, the Bobcats improve to 3-5 this season after entering play with back-to-back losses.

Junior forward Alonzo Murphy (Pittsburgh, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) led the team in scoring with 13 points after shooting four-of-five from the field and five-of-eight from the free-throw line. Fellow junior Tynell Fortune (Harlem, N.Y./Pocono Mountain West (Pa.)) and sophomore Jake Jacubec (Struthers, Ohio/Struthers) both finished with 12 points on Saturday, while junior Arman Marks (Louisville, Ky./Eastern) added 11 points before fouling out.

West Virginia Wesleyan raced out to a 20-6 lead with 12:30 left in the first half after making all five three-point attempts, including three treys by senior T.J. Thompson. The Vulcans then scored seven-straight points over the next three minutes to trim the deficit to 20-13 with four-straight points by Murphy. The Bobcats responded with a 17-6 rally over the last nine minutes of the first half to take a 37-19 lead into the break after shooting 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) from beyond the arc.

After the Bobcats scored six of the opening seven points in the second half, the Vulcans countered with a 10-2 run to trim the deficit to 45-30 with 13:35 left to play. Following a trey by West Virginia Wesleyan, Cal U posted eight-unanswered points over nearly five minutes to cut the deficit to 48-38. However, the teams traded points for the remainder of the game with the Bobcats holding a double-digit lead for the majority of the time.

Cal U finished the game shooting 43.9 percent (18-of-43) from the field and just 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from long range. In comparison, West Virginia Wesleyan shot at a 53.3 clip (24-of-45) and 50.0 percent (12-of-24) from beyond the arc. The Vulcans attempted over a dozen more free-throw attempts, making 22-of-33 attempts (66.7 percent) and committed only nine turnovers in the loss.

Thompson finished with a game-high 23 points behind four-of-eight shooting from long range. Senior guard Ray Warren recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists and also tallied a game-high eight rebounds in the victory.

The Vulcans return to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play on Wednesday, Dec. 4, when they travel to face Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa., with tip at 7:30 p.m.