ERIE, Pa. (Feb. 22) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team made a season-high 17 three-pointers, which are the most in over a decade, on Wednesday night in an 87-82 double-overtime road loss to Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the loss, the Vulcans drop to 10-17 this season behind a 7-14 mark in league action. Cal U remains one game back of sixth place in the PSAC West standings with one game left in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Lakers improve to 13-12 overall with an 11-10 record in conference play.
Junior
Robel Teckle (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy) led the team with 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. He also posted eight rebounds on Wednesday while playing 42 minutes before fouling out. Teckle is averaging 13.4 points over the last nine games and has scored in double-digits six times during that span.
Classmate
Luka Andjusic (Belgrade, Serbia/Borislav Petrov Braca) finished with 18 points behind 5-of-10 from three-point territory. He also tallied four assists while playing a team-high 46 minutes against Mercyhurst. Fellow junior
Cordell Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) posted 15 points, three rebounds and five assists in the loss, while classmate
Tony Richardson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) registered 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore
Rashawn Browne (Toronto, Ontario/Bill Crothers) collected a season-high 10 assists on Wednesday night.
In the first overtime period, Cal U opened on an 11-2 run to take a 73-64 lead when Teckle converted a rare four-point play at the 2:24-mark. The Lakers then countered with a 10-1 rally to tie the score at 74-74 with 11 seconds remaining in the period. The Vulcans were unable to break the tie on the ensuing possession, as Richardson was called for an offensive foul and fouled out as time expired. Neither team was able to score in the opening 90 seconds of the second overtime period before Mercyhurst started with five-unanswered points to take a 79-74 lead with 2:14 left in the period. Teckle made another four-point play at the 1:26-mark to cut the deficit to 79-78 with 1:26 left to play. The Lakers than sealed the win with six free-throws down the stretch.
The Vulcans led by as many as 12 points in the first half before the Lakers closed the half with eight-straight points to cut the deficit to 28-24 at the break. The teams traded points in the opening minutes of the second half before Cal U mounted a 12-2 run to take a 50-38 lead on a three-pointer by Smith with 12:00 left in regulation. The Lakers later mounted a 13-1 rally to tie the score at 56-56 at the 5:34-mark. The teams combined for only three field goals over nearly four minutes with Cal U holding a 61-59 lead on a dunk by Richardson with 1:47 remaining in the second half. The Lakers took the lead at 62-61 on a three-pointer with 23 seconds left before Richardson sent the game into overtime by making the backend of two free-throws with five seconds remaining.
Cal U shot 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the floor, including a 43.6 clip (17-of-39) from beyond the arc. In comparison, Mercyhurst made 41.0 percent (32-of-78) from the field and converted 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from the free-throw line. The Lakers, which committed just five turnovers, out-rebounded the Vulcans by a 49-41 margin behind 18 offensive rebounds that led to 27 second-chance points.
Mercyhurst junior Lorenzo Collier scored a game-high 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-10 from long range. Senior Durrell McDonald registered a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Dajuan Dent also posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Vulcans close out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 25, when they host No. 2 IUP at the Convocation Center with tipoff at 5 p.m.
