CALIFORNIA (Jan. 14) – The Vulcans led by as many 19 points in the second half on Saturday evening before claiming a 69-61 victory against Seton Hill at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team improves to 5-12 this season with a 2-9 mark in league play. The Vulcans have won two conference games this week after previously dropping 19-straight contests against league opponents. Meanwhile, the Griffins fall to 7-8 overall behind a 4-7 mark in conference action.

Juniors Tony Richardson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) and Cordell Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) tied for the team lead with 11 points on Saturday. Richardson made four-of-five from the floor and also registered seven rebounds in the win. Smith shot three-of-eight from beyond the arc and tallied four assists and three steals off the bench.

Fellow junior Jay Tucker (Philadelphia, Pa./Academy at Palumbo) scored 10 points on five-of-six shooting and led the team with eight rebounds off the bench. Classmate Nick Miller (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) added nine points off the bench, while junior Luka Andjusic (Belgrade, Serbia/Borislav Petrov Braca) posted eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Vulcans posted a 10-1 run over five-plus minutes early in the first half to take a 10-5 lead with 13:52 left before halftime. Seton Hill then cut the deficit to 12-11 before Cal U countered with a 13-2 rally to take a 25-13 lead at the 9:03-mark after Miller made a pair of three-pointers in under 20 seconds. The Griffins responded by trimming the deficit to 33-26 with 4:01 left in the first half before the Vulcans eventually took a 41-30 lead at the break.

Seton Hill again worked the deficit to seven points, 45-38, before Cal U rallied off eight-straight points to stretch the lead to 53-38 on a three-point play by Richardson with 13:47 left to play. The Griffins cut the deficit down to 11 points, 55-44, before the Vulcans took their largest lead of the game at 67-48 behind 12-4 run over five-plus minutes at the 5:22-mark. Cal U was held without a field goal for the remainder of the game, as Seton Hill closed the contest on a 13-2 run.

The Vulcans shot over 47 percent in the first half before finishing the game with a .426 field-goal percentage (26-of-61). Meanwhile, the Griffins made 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from the floor despite going just 2-of-17 (11.8 percent) from long range. Cal U registered a 37-34 rebounding edge and scored 21 points off turnovers in the victory.

Seniors Damjan Sredanovic and Noah Davis both scored a team-high 13 points in the losing effort. Junior Spencer Casson led all players with 14 rebounds while playing 29 minutes.

Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 18, when it travels to face No. 12 IUP at 7:30 p.m.