CALIFORNIA (Feb. 15) – Despite four starters scoring in double-digits and making a dozen three-pointers in the contest, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team suffered an 88-67 loss to Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 9-16 overall with a 6-13 mark in league action. Cal U remains two wins back of the sixth place in the PSAC West standings with three games left in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats clinched a berth in the PSAC Tournament by improving to 16-10 this season behind an 11-9 record in divisional play.
Junior
Robel Teckle (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy) led the team with 15 points after shooting 4-of-12 from the floor and five-of-six from the free-throw line. He also posted four rebounds while playing 32 minutes. Teckle is averaging 12.0 points over the last eight games and has recorded a pair of double-doubles during that span.
Fellow junior
Luka Andjusic (Belgrade, Serbia/Borislav Petrov Braca) added 10 points, six rebounds and six assists on Wednesday, while classmate
Cordell Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) tallied 13 points and three rebounds in the loss. Junior
Nick Miller (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) scored 11 points behind three-of-five from three-point territory.
Cal U scored the opening seven points of the game before UPJ countered with a 17-5 run to take a 17-12 lead with 12:39 left in the first half. During the rally, the Mountain Cats shot six-of-seven from the floor with a trio of three-pointers. Smith cut the deficit to 25-23 with a three-pointer at the 7:41-mark before UPJ scored 10-unanswered points over three-plus minutes to take a 35-23 lead with 4:40 remaining before the break. The Vulcans countered with five-straight points to trim the deficit to 35-28 on a three-pointer by Andjusic before the Mountain Cats closed the half on a 12-2 run to take a 47-30 lead at halftime.
Early in the second half, UPJ mounted a 14-3 rally over four-plus minutes to take its largest lead of the game at 26 points, 63-37, with 14:30 left in the contest. The Vulcans then answered with a 13-5 run, including eight points by Teckle, to work the deficit down 68-50 with 10:02 left to play. UPJ quickly stretched the lead back to 20 points and maintained at least a 20-point lead for the remainder of the game.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the floor, including a 37.5 clip (12-of-32) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats made nearly 60 percent in the first half before finishing with a .476 field-goal percentage (30-of-63). UPJ held a slim 39-37 rebounding advantage while scoring 32 points in the paint.
Junior forward Isaac Vescovi scored a game-high 20 points after going 8-of-14 from the floor and added eight rebounds and two steals. Fellow junior Dale Clancy posted 17 points and five assists, while senior A.J. Leahey finished with 15 points and five rebounds.
Cal U returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 18, when it travels to face Clarion at 7:30 p.m.
