SALEM, W.Va. (Dec. 9) – After featuring six players with double-digit points on Sunday evening, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team claimed a 90-84 victory over Kentucky State in non-conference action on the final day of the Joe Manchin Classic hosted by Salem.
 
With the win, the Vulcans snap a three-game losing streak to improve to 2-6 this season before playing 11-consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponents over the next six weeks. Meanwhile, the Thorobreds drop to 4-6 overall with each of their last three losses being by six points.
 
Freshman Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) led the team with 18 points behind 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. He added five rebounds and three steals in 40 minutes of action. Classmate Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) finished with 17 points on five-of-six attempts, including a pair from beyond the arc. He also totaled two assists and two steals despite being limited to 21 minutes due to foul trouble.
 
Sophomore Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) totaled 15 points, eight assists and six steals while playing all 40 minutes, while redshirt junior Donte' Williams (Buffalo, N.Y./Bishop Timon) scored 14 points on five-of-nine shots and added five rebounds and two steals in his second start with the program. Freshman Collin MacAdams (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) also scored 14 points and tallied six rebounds, while junior Jordan Gessner (Elizabethville, Pa./Upper Dauphin) scored a career-high 12 points on five-of-eight shooting and added three rebounds in 24 minutes of the bench.
 
The teams exchanged the opening four shots before Cal U rallied off 13-straight points on five-of-eight shooting to take an 18-6 lead at the 14:00-mark. Kentucky State answered with a layup until Collins countered with three-unanswered points to extend the lead. Both teams were held scoreless for just over three minutes before the Thorobreds knocked down a three-pointer with 9:18 left in the first half. Gessner would come off the bench to tally five points for Cal U to remain ahead 29-13. Kentucky State responded with back-to-back shots from long range during an 8-3 run to trim the deficit to 32-21 at the 5:04-mark. The Vulcans remained ahead late in the first half before the Thorobreds posted a 6-0 rally to cut the lead to 40-31. Hall made a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in the half to put Cal U ahead 43-31 at halftime.
 
The Vulcans tallied six-consecutive points to stretch the lead to 49-31 before Kentucky State answered with a 9-0 rally to close the gap to 49-40 at the 16:52-mark. MacAdams countered with seven-straight points for the Vulcans over a two-minute span. Cal U extended the lead to 65-57 after making three-of-five from the field, including five points from Hall, with 10:13 remaining in the game. Each team would trade baskets over the next three-plus minutes before the Thorobreds totaled five-straight points to cut the deficit to 75-70. The Vulcans notched seven-unanswered points to take an 82-70 advantage with 1:42 left in the second half. Kentucky State responded with an 11-5 rally before knocking down a three-pointer to close the gap to 88-84 with four seconds left. After a foul on the inbound pass, Hall made two free-throws to seal the 90-84 victory.

Cal U finished the game with a .491 field-goal percentage (28-of-57) and made 27-of-40 (67.5 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Kentucky State shot 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the floor while converting 26-of-31 (83.9 percent) from the charity stripe. The Thorobreds held a staggering 42-24 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans notched 24 points off 19 turnovers in the contest.
 
Senior Kevin Hayes led all players with 28 points behind 14-of-16 from the free-throw line and added nine rebounds. Teammate Ditalion Battle tallied 23 points, four rebounds and two assists, while senior David Jelks posted 12 points and four rebounds in the losing effort.
 
Cal U is idle for over a week before returning to PSAC Crossover action by hosting Bloomsburg on Dec. 18 at the Convocation Center, starting at 3 p.m.