CALIFORNIA (Feb. 10) – The Vulcans were limited to 16 points and four field goals in the first half before suffering a 57-48 loss to Slippery Rock at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Wednesday night. 

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 7-17 on the year behind a 4-14 league mark. Meanwhile, The Rock improves to 13-11 overall with an 8-10 conference record and have won three of their last five games. 

Senior Richard Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East) led the team with 14 points, which all came in the second half, by shooting four-of-eight from the floor and six-of-eight from the charity stripe. He also recorded five rebounds, two blocks and one steal on Wednesday night. Smith has now led the Vulcans in scoring seven times on the year.

Sophomore Luka Andjusic (Belgrade, Serbia/Borislav Petrov Braca) posted nine points and three steals, while classmate Tony Richardson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) registered eight points and five rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Senior Khalil Jabbie (Alexandria, Va./Edison) added seven points after shooting five-of-six from the free-throw line and also recorded five rebounds and four assists. 

The first half began with both sides trading a pair of free-throws before exchanging baskets to give Slippery Rock a 6-4 lead with 15:34 remaining before halftime. The two teams exchanged scores again as the Rock made the score 9-8 before scoring seven-consecutive points to extend the lead to 16-8 at the 7:38-mark. Cal U scored the next three points, all from free-throws, before Andjusic made the team's first field goal in almost nine minutes to cut the lead to 19-13 with 3:00 remaining. Slippery Rock ended the first half by scoring seven of the last 10 points to go into halftime with a 26-16 lead. The Vulcans finished the half shooting just 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from the floor. 

Slippery Rock started the second half by scoring eight of the first 12 points to extend the lead to 34-20 with 15:58 remaining in regulation. Both sides exchanged baskets before a jumper from The Rock increased the margin to 40-24 at the 11:50-mark. The two teams traded scores before a three-point play from Slippery Rock increased the lead to 49-30 with 8:03 remaining in the half. Cal U responded by recording eight-straight point, including six free-throws, capped by a tip-in from senior Josh Dombrosky (Shenandoah Heights, Pa./Shenandoah Valley) to cut the deficit to 49-36 at the 5:27-mark. After a three-pointer from Slippery Rock, the Vulcans responded by scoring another six-straight points to cut the deficit to 52-44 with 3:36 left in the half. The Rock scored five of the last nine points to end the game with a 57-48 win.

Cal U finished the game shooting 31.1 percent (14-of-45) from the floor after making only four field goals in the first half. In comparison, Slippery Rock shot at a 44.0 clip (22-of-50) from the field. The Rock also held a 38-32 advantage in rebounds.

Redshirt senior Cornelius Brown posted a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds (10 defensive), while senior Malcolm Richardson also tallied 19 points with two rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. 

Cal U returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 13, when it begins a three-game road trip against Seton Hill at 3 p.m.