JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (Jan. 11) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team was never able to recover from an early 16-point deficit on Wednesday night and suffered a 101-70 loss at Pitt-Johnstown in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 4-12 overall behind a 1-8 mark in league action. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats improve to 10-6 this season with a 5-5 record in conference play.
Junior
Tony Richardson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) scored a career-high 18 points after going eight-of-nine from the field. He also posted seven rebounds (all offensive), two assists and two blocks in 22 minutes off the bench. Richardson has scored in double-digits seven times this season and is averaging a career high with 7.2 rebounds per game.
Fellow junior
Jay Tucker (Philadelphia, Pa./Academy at Palumbo) recorded his third double-double in the last six games, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Classmate
Luka Andjusic (Belgrade, Serbia/Borislav Petrov Braca) posted 13 points, six rebounds and two assists in his first start since Dec. 3, while junior
Cordell Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) tallied seven points, three assists and five steals in the loss.
UPJ raced out to a 22-6 in lead in the opening six minutes of the game after shooting 9-of-13 from the floor, including four-of-four from long range. The Mountain Cats later stretched the lead to 22 points, 37-15, with 8:38 left before halftime following an 11-5 run. Over four-plus minutes, Cal U mounted a 15-6 rally after making six-of-eight from the field to cut the deficit to 45-32 at the 3:09-mark. UPJ took a 50-36 lead at halftime after both teams were held scoreless over the last minute-plus of the first half.
The Mountain Cats scored the initial nine points of the second half to stretch their lead to 59-36 at the 17:19-mark. Cal U worked the deficit down to 69-52 on a three-pointer by Andjusic with 12:10 left to play before UPJ made back-to-back baskets. The Vulcans responded with a 12-6 run to trim the deficit to 79-64 with 7:06 remaining before making just three field goals in the final seven minutes, as the Mountain Cats closed the game on a 22-6 run.
Cal U finished the game shooting 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the floor despite going just 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, UPJ made 58.2 percent (39-of-67) from the field behind a blistering 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from long range. The Vulcans out-rebounded the Mountain Cats by a 36-31 margin, but committed 23 turnovers in the loss.
Junior Dale Clancy and junior Isaac Vescovi combined for nearly 50 points on Wednesday. Clancy led all players with 26 points behind six three-pointers and also finished with 11 assists. Vescovi posted 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and added seven rebounds in the victory.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Jan. 14, when they host Seton Hill at 5 p.m.
