CALIFORNIA (Nov. 14) – Freshman guard
Ramon Creighton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) led four players in double-figures on Monday night, as the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team registered a 100-92 overtime victory against Davis & Elkins at the Convocation Center.
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 2-1 under first-year head coach
Kent McBride after splitting a pair of games over the weekend at the Trojan Tip-Off Classic hosted by Virginia State. Meanwhile, the Senators lost their season-opener after being picked fourth in the preseason Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) poll.
Creighton finished with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor despite being whistled for his fourth foul with 12:54 left in the second half. He also collected five rebounds and four assists in the victory. Creighton scored 11 points in overtime after making all four of his field-goal attempts.
Juniors
Daniel Sapp (Streetsboro, Ohio/Streetsboro) and
Mike Stevenson (Houston, Texas/Cypress Ranch), a transfer from Allegany (Md.), both nearly recorded double-doubles off the bench. Stevenson posted 15 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes, while Sapp finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in 35 minutes.
Fellow junior
Nick Miller (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) added 13 points, including three-of-five from beyond the arc, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the victory. Junior transfer
Robel Teckle (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy) tallied nine points and seven rebounds, while classmate
Tony Richardson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) finished with nine points and eight rebounds in just 16 minutes.
The Vulcans led the entire second half before the Senators mounted a 13-4 run over three-plus minutes late in the game to take a 77-76 lead on a three-pointer by senior Kevin Bracy-Davis with 58 seconds left. On its next possession, Cal U missed a three-pointer before Sapp collected the offensive rebound and scored on a layup with 33 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, the Senators committed a turnover when trying to get Bracy-Davis the ball on the wing. D&E then called a timeout and the Vulcans took a 79-77 lead after making the back end of a pair of free-throw with 20 seconds left. D&E managed to tie game on its next possession on a layup by Rickenjee Bellevue and under 10 seconds remaining.
Cal U opened overtime period on a 7-0 run behind five points from Creighton in the opening two minutes. Creighton then made a three-pointer at the 2:42-mark before the Senators scored four-straight points to cut the deficit to 89-84 with 1:58 left to play. D&E later trimmed the lead down to 91-87 on a three-pointer by Kevin Simpson before Cal U sealed the victory by making 7-of-10 free-throws to stretch the lead to 100-90 with 22 seconds remaining.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 48.6 percent (34-of-70) from the floor and 58.1 percent (25-of-43) from the free-throw line despite making 10-of-13 in the first half. Meanwhile, the Senators were held to a .353 field-goal percentage (30-of-85) after shooting at a 29.7 clip (11-of-37) from beyond the arc. D&E finished with a slim 54-53 rebounding advantage behind 20 offensive rebounds that led to 27 second-chance points.
Bracy-Davis, who ranked in the G-MAC in scoring last year, finished with a game-high 35 points after shooting 10-of-18 from the field and 11-of-16 from the free-throw line. He also registered 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals before fouling out in overtime. Simpson posted 10 points, three rebounds and three assists in the loss.
The Vulcans open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play on Saturday, Nov. 19, when they travel to face preseason PSAC East-favorite Kutztown at 3 p.m.
