CALIFORNIA (Jan. 9) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team dropped its third-straight contest on Saturday evening with a 72-60 loss to Seton Hill in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at the Convocation Center.
With the loss, the Vulcans drop to 5-10 this season with a 3-7 mark in league play. Meanwhile, the Griffins posted their fourth win in their last five games to improve to 6-8 overall behind a 4-6 conference record.
Sophomore guard
Nick Miller (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including three-of-six from beyond the arc, while making his second start of the year. He has now scored in double-digits in each of the last three games after previously averaging only 3.0 points per game this season.
Senior
Khalil Jabbie (Alexandria, Va./Edison) finished with 14 points behind eight-of-eight from the free-throw line and also added four rebounds, five assists and three steals. Sophomores
Tony Richardson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) and
Luka Andjusic (Belgrade, Serbia/Borislav Petrov Braca) both posted eight points off the bench in the loss, while seniors
Richard Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East) and
Nate Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) tied for the team lead with eight rebounds.
Cal U mounted a 13-3 run over four-plus minutes early in the first half to take a 16-8 lead on a layup by Richardson with 13:48 remaining in the first half. During the run, the Vulcans shot five-of-six from the floor and forced five turnovers. The teams then traded baskets before Seton Hill answered with a 15-3 rally over five minutes to take a 25-21 lead with 7:47 left before the break. The Griffins later stretched their first-half lead to as many as 10 points, 43-33, with five seconds left in the half following a 15-6 run. Jabbie then made a pair of free-throws in the closing seconds, as the Vulcans entered the break trailing 43-35.
The Vulcans engineered a 12-2 rally in the opening minutes of the second half to cut the deficit to 51-49 at the 13:54-mark. Cal U then went nearly two minutes without a field goal before Seton Hill later mounted a 9-0 run to take a 62-52 lead with 7:40 left to play. The Vulcans later scored four-straight points to cut the deficit to 62-56 on a layup by Richardson with 6:32 remaining. However, Cal U would be unable to pull any closer after being held scoreless for the last 3:58 of the game.
Cal U finished the game shooting 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the floor and 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the free-throw line. In comparison, Seton Hill made 50.9 percent (27-of-53) from the floor despite just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc and shot at a 60.0 clip (15-of-25) from the charity stripe. The Griffins held a 37-35 rebounding advantage after the teams were whistled for a combined 25 fouls in the first half.
Sophomore Trevor Blondin led the Griffins with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting and added six rebounds and three assists. Senior Kameron Taylor, the leading scorer in the PSAC, finished with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore Tyler Bowling added 13 points on six-of-seven from the floor.
The Vulcans return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 13, when they host Gannon in PSAC West play at 7:30 p.m.
