CALIFORNIA (Feb. 8) – The Vulcans trailed by as many as 12 points midway through the second half before dropping a 74-67 contest to Gannon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center.
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 8-15 this season with a 5-12 mark in league action. Meanwhile, Gannon improves to 15-7 overall with a 5-12 record in conference play.
Junior guard
Cordell Smith (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) led the team with 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting. He also set a season high with six assists and added five rebounds and four steals while playing 37 minutes. Smith has now scored in double-digits four times in the last last five games.
Classmate
Luka Andjusic (Belgrade, Serbia/Borislav Petrov Braca)
tallied 14 points (12 first half) and fellow junior
Tony Richardson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) registered 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and added four rebounds in the loss.
The Vulcans scored the opening four points of the game before the Golden Knights responded with four points of their own to tie the score at the 18:16-mark. Cal U then went on a 10-5 run to take a 14-9 lead at the 14:48-mark capped by a jumper from junior
Robel Teckle (Washington D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy). After a pair of Gannon free-throws, Cal U scored eight-unanswered points to take its largest lead of the half at 22-11 with 10:17 left before the break. The Golden Knights responded with six-straight points to cut the deficit to 22-17 before the Vulcans responded with a 6-2 run to get the lead back to nine points at the 6:17-mark. Gannon closed the half on a 15-6 run to tie the score at 36-36 at halftime. The Vulcans shot just two-of-nine from the field in the final 5:50 after holding a 30-21 lead.
Gannon opened the second half with 11-straight points over a span of 2:57 to take a 47-36 lead at the 17:08-mark. A three-pointer from Smith with 13:14 remaining capped a 7-2 run that cut the Gannon lead down to 51-46, but the Golden Knights responded with a 9-3 rally to take a 12-point lead with 7:45 left in the game. Cal U made a late-game charge to get within two points of Gannon behind a 13-5 run. After a pair of Gannon free-throws, Richardson dunked to bring the deficit back to two points, but the Vulcans were unable to get any closer. The Golden Knights closed the game on a 9-4 run to preserve the win.
Cal U shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the field overall despite going 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Gannon shot 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the floor after shooting almost 60 percent in the second half and went 6-of-15 (40.0 percent) from long range. The Golden Knights held a sizable 42-24 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans were able to force 20 turnovers.
Gannon senior Matthew Dogan led the team with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting and added six rebounds, while junior Zay Jackson and sophomore Evan Phoenix each posted 16 points.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Feb. 11, when they travel to face Seton Hill in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, at 3 p.m.
