FAIRMONT, W.Va. (Nov. 9) – In the initial game under first-year head coach Danny Sancomb, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team suffered an 86-70 loss against host Fairmont State on Friday night during the opening day of the Joe Retton Classic.
 
With the loss, the Vulcans open the year at 0-1 while featuring a starting lineup of all newcomers. Meanwhile, the Falcons improve to 1-0 under second-year head coach Joe Mazzulla after posting a 20-win campaign in his first year at the helm.
 
Freshman Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) led all players with 20 points after shooting 9-of-15 from the floor and totaled eight rebounds and two steals while playing all 40 minutes in his collegiate debut. Classmate Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) tallied 18 points on 8-of-15 from the field and added three rebounds and two assists in 40 minutes of play in his college debut.
 
Sophomore transfer Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) finished with 15 points on 6-of-15 from the floor and tallied four rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes of action. Freshman Kenneth Lee III (Rankin, Pa./Woodland Hills) posted nine points after shooting four-of-seven from the field and notched a team-leading three steals in 31 minutes of play in his collegiate debut.
 
Fairmont State took an early 8-5 advantage in the opening minutes before freshman Collin MacAdams (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) closed the gap on a layup in the first half. Following a media timeout, the Falcons went on a 9-1 run after scoring a pair of three-pointers to take a 17-8 lead. Cal U countered with eight-straight points to trail by one point following a pair of three-pointers from Lee and Hall. Fairmont State answered with back-to-back layups before a three-pointer gave the Falcons a 24-16 advantage. A pair of layups from the Vulcans cut the deficit to 26-20 before Fairmont State knocked down a pair of three-pointers to extend the lead to 32-20. Both teams exchanged the next 15 points before Pegram closed the gap to 39-30 on a layup. Collins would make the final shot in the closing minutes, as the Falcons took a 41-32 lead in the break.
 
The Falcons remained ahead through the beginning of the second half before the Vulcans mounted an 8-3 run after sinking a pair of three-pointers, 54-50. Fairmont State extended the lead to 59-52 before Hall scored the next six points for the Vulcans to cut the deficit to 61-58 with 9:32 remaining in the half. The Falcons would answer back again from beyond the arc to stretch the advantage to 67-60 before going on a 9-2 run after shooting four-of-four from the floor to take a 76-62 lead. MacAdams snapped the run with a layup before the Falcons shot three-of-three from the field to close out the game with an 86-70 victory.
 
Cal U finished the game shooting 51.7 (31-of-60) from the floor while converting just 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, Fairmont State made 60.4 percent (32-53) from the field, including 15-of-28 (53.6 percent) from beyond the arc. The Falcons held a 30-22 rebounding advantage and added 32 points off the bench.
 
Sophomore Cole VonHandorf scored 18 points on six-of-eight shooting and totaled three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 32 minutes, while teammate Kenzie Melko-Marshall posted 17 points, three rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes off the bench. Redshirt senior R.J. Hutcherson and junior Andrew Emrick finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
 
The Vulcans continue play at the Joe Retton Classic tomorrow, Saturday, Nov.10, when they face Notre Dame (Ohio) in Fairmont, West Virginia, starting at 6 p.m.