CALIFORNIA, Pa. (Feb. 21) – Despite forcing overtime in the final minute of regulation, the Vulcans fell to division-leading Gannon 59-57 at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Saturday evening.
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 14-13 overall with a 9-12 mark in conference action. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights clinched the top spot in the PSAC West with the victory and improve their overall record to 19-8 behind a conference record to 17-4.
Senior
Arman Marks (Louisville, Ky./Eastern) led all scorers and tied his season high with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. He also contributed six assists and four rebounds in the contest. Junior
Richard Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East) finished the game with six points, eight rebounds and five blocks, while classmate
Khalil Jabbie (Alexandra, Va./Edison) also added six points in the game.
The two teams were tied at 4-4 to open the game until Gannon went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 run at the 13:22-mark. Cal U rallied back to take a 15-10 lead with 9:48 left in the half after two successful free-throws by Marks. The Vulcans extended their lead to 18-12 when freshman
Nick Miller (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) hit a three-pointer at the 8:21 mark. The Golden Knights managed to tie the game at 23-23 with 3:27 remaining in the half. The teams were scoreless over the last 2:19 of the half leaving the score 26-26 at the break.
The teams traded baskets to start the second half until Cal U took a 34-30 lead after a three-pointer at the 15:38 remaining. Gannon regained the lead with 7:44 remaining on a jumper before the Vulcans answered back with two foul-shots to tie the game at 43-43. Gannon held a two-point lead with 56 seconds remaining until Jabbie was fouled and made both free-throws to tie the game. Cal U was unable to make a layup in the closing seconds and the game went to overtime tied at 53-53.
Gannon opened overtime with two jumpers to take a 57-53 lead in the first two minutes of action. Marks tied the game at 57-57 on a jumper from the corner with 33 seconds left before Gannon made two free-throws with five seconds remaining to register the final two points of the game.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 44.2 percent (19-of-43) from the field while shooting 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from beyond the arc. Cal U also shot 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the free-throw line with 11 free-throws made in the second half. The Golden Knights shot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the floor and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the free-throw line. Gannon finished the contest with a 32-28 rebounding advantage.
The Golden Knights were led by senior Adam Blazek who scored 15 points and totaled six rebounds and five assists. Fellow senior Raphell Thomas-Edwards finished with 14 points and eight rebounds while classmate Girbran Smith registered 13 points and four rebounds.
Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with it travels to Slippery Rock for the final regular-season game of the year at 5 p.m.
