ASHLAND, Ohio (Nov. 22) – Facing a NCAA Tournament team from last year for the third time this month, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team suffered an 80-67 loss at Ashland in non-conference action on Tuesday night.

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 2-4 on the year with only one of their opening six games at home. Meanwhile, Eagles improve to 4-1 overall after posting a 25-win season last year with an appearance in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament.

Freshman Ramon Creighton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) led all scores with 20 points, including 12 in the second half, after going 7-of-13 from the field and five-of-six from the line. He also added four rebounds, four assists and one steal on Tuesday at Ashland.

Junior guard Nick Miller (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) added 14 points, three rebounds and two assists, while classmate Daniel Sapp (Streetsboro, Ohio/Streetsboro) posted 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. Junior guard Luka Andjusic (Belgrade, Serbia/Borislav Petrov Braca) finished with eight points, five rebounds and two assists in the loss.

The Vulcans opened up the game with a 9-5 lead before the Eagles countered with a 19-3 run to jump out to a 24-12 lead midway through the first half. A three-pointer from junior guard Cordell Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) led to an 8-0 run from the Vulcans to trim the lead to 24-20 with 6:47 left before halftime. The Eagles extended its lead to 35-27 behind an 11-7 run. The Vulcans scored the final five points of the half to cut the deficit to 35-32 at the break.

Ashland opened the second half on a 13-5 rally to jump out to a 48-39 lead with 15:48 remaining. A layup from Sapp made it 48-41 before Ashland went on a 15-2 run to extend the lead to 63-43 at the 12:51-mark. Cal U mounted an 11-5 run to pull within 66-54 before Ashland went on a 5-2 run to lead 71-56. Cal U answered with an 8-3 rally to pull within 10 points, 74-64, with 4:53 left to play. Ashland ended the game on a 6-3 run to make it a 80-67 victory.

Cal U finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the field and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the foul line. Meanwhile, Ashland shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the floor and 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the charity stripe. Ashland held a 40-31 rebounding advantage but committed 14 turnovers that led to 17 points by the Vulcans.

Ashland sophomore Ben Haraway finished with 17 points after shooting six-of-nine from the field and added three rebounds, four assists, one block and four steals. Fellow sophomore Nick Bapst added 15 points and three rebounds on Tuesday.

Cal U is idle for over a week before returning to action on Nov. 30 when it travels to face Davis & Elkins in Elkins, West Virginia, at 6 p.m.