CALIFORNIA (Nov. 19) – Despite featuring four players scoring in double-digits, the Vulcans suffered an 81-67 loss against Mansfield at the Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play.
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team drops to 3-2 overall with a 1-1 record in league action. It marked the first time this season that the Vulcans were held to under 85 points in a game. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers secured their first win of the year to move to 1-2 this season behind a 1-1 record in conference action.
Junior
Jahmere Howze (Cleveland, Ohio/Warrensville Heights) led the team with 18 points after shooting 7-of-15 from the floor and added seven rebounds, two assists, one block and a team-high three steals. Senior
Terry Davis, Jr. (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) contributed 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes.
Senior
Cordell Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) scored a season-high 15 points and collected four rebounds and three assists against the Mountaineers, while senior
Isaiah Lewis (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ of King) tallied 12 points, two assists and two steals on Sunday.
The Vulcans opened the game up 3-0 before the Mountaineers went on a 15-6 run to take an early advantage with 15:49 remaining the first half. Cal U countered with a 15-4 rally capped off by a layup from Smith to reclaim the lead at 24-19. During the run, the Vulcans converted six-of-eight attempts from the field and forced the Mountaineers to commit a pair of turnovers. Mansfield connected on a jumper and knocked down two shots from long range to trim the deficit to 31-30 with 6:31 left until halftime. The Mountaineers took the lead with just under a minute to play in the first half on a three-pointer and went into the break up 42-38 over the Vulcans.
Cal U responded with a short 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 43-42 in the opening minute of the second half. The Vulcans remained down own until the Mountaineers put together a 19-4 rally with 5:13 left in the second half. During that stretch, Cal U committed five turnovers and made only two field goals while Mansfield went 7-of-15 from the field, plus five-of-six from the free-throw line. The Vulcans trimmed the deficit to 72-65 with seven-straight points from Howze before the Mountaineers mounted a 9-2 run to seal the 81-67 victory.
Cal U shot a season-low 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the floor and converted just 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Mansfield made 30-of-66 attempts from the field while adding 15-of-18 from the free-throw line. The Mountaineers held a 41-37 advantage in rebounds, while the Vulcans scored 16 fastbreak points.
Senior Malik Carter scored a game-high 31 points on 10-of-18 from the floor, including five-of-six from three-point range, and added eight rebounds and five assists. Classmate Jeremiah Worthem, who previously started at Robert Morris, posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow senior Matt Tamanosky added 17 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes.
The Vulcans are idle for over a week before returning to action Nov. 27 when they face Salem International in the Convocation Center at 7 p.m.
