CALIFORNIA (Jan. 27) – The Vulcans were held scoreless for a six-minute stretch in the first half and matched a season-low from beyond the arc on Saturday afternoon in an 86-65 loss against Slippery Rock at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 9-12 overall behind a 5-10 mark in league play. Meanwhile, The Rock improves to 17-4 this season with an 11-4 record in conference play.
Junior
Jahmere Howze (Cleveland, Ohio/Warrensville Heights) led the team with 21 points and converted 11-of-14 from the free-throw line. He added seven rebounds (four offensive) and two steals in 29 minutes. Howze, who recorded his eighth 20-point performance this season, is averaging 17.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game over the last six contests.
Senior
Isaiah Lewis (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) tallied 12 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes on Saturday. Freshman
Philip Alexander (Laurel, Md./Mt. Zion Prep) scored 11 points on four-of-eight attempts and added two rebounds in 34 minutes. He has scored in double-figures in three of the last four contests. Senior
Terry Davis, Jr. (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) totaled seven points and six rebounds in limited minutes against Slippery Rock.
Cal U held an early 9-6 lead after converting three-of-three from the floor, including two three-pointers in the opening minutes. The Rock countered with 11-unanswered points to retake the lead at 17-9 with 14:46 left in the half before the Vulcans trimmed the deficit with five-straight points. Slippery Rock extended its lead to 28-19 after shooting three-of-five from the field and a perfect four-of-four from the charity stripe. The Rock quickly took a commanding lead with a 13-0 rally over a six-minute span to lead 41-22 with 2:29 left before halftime. During the run, Cal U suffered through a six-minute drought without a basket and was forced into a pair of turnovers. Slippery Rock held a 46-27 advantage at the break after both teams exchanged baskets in the closing minutes of the first half.
The Vulcans opened the second half on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 48-35 with 16:59 left. Slippery Rock remained in control throughout the second half, extending its lead to a game-high 30 points after making 7-of-10 from the floor. Cal U closed out the game shooting 6-of-12 and registering a 16-7 rally in an 86-65 loss versus The Rock.
Cal U posted a .368 shooting percentage (21-of-57) and made 20-of-26 (76.9 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Slippery Rock converted 50.7 percent (35-of-69) from the field and were 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The Rock held a sizeable 44-33 rebounding advantage and scored 18 fast-break points, while Cal U tallied 32 points in the paint.
Redshirt sophomore Micah Till finished with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting and added nine rebounds after coming into the contest averaging a double-double this season. Junior Brandon Simmons totaled 14 points on 7-of-10 attempts and collected three rebounds, while teammate Richard Bivens tallied 12 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
Cal U begins a three-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 3, when it travels to face Edinboro at 3 p.m.
