LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (Jan. 12) – Despite battling foul trouble throughout the second half, the Vulcans held on late to secure a 78-74 victory at Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.
 
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team improves to 6-8 this season behind a 4-4 mark in league action. Cal U has won five of its last seven games and concludes crossover play with a 2-3 record. Meanwhile, the Bald Eagles drop consecutive games to fall to 5-7 overall with a 4-5 record in conference action.  
 
Freshman Collin MacAdams (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) led the team with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and made five-of-six from the free-throw line. He added six rebounds and two assists while playing all 40 minutes for the sixth time this year. MacAdams has notched a pair of 20-point games this season and ranks third on team in scoring at 14.1 points per game.
 
Classmate Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) posted his second double-double of the season with 19 points on 8-of-13 attempts and added 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 40 minutes of action. Sophomore Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) also scored 19 points on 8-of-16 shots and totaled four rebounds and five steals in 40 minutes of play.
 
Redshirt junior Donte' Williams (Buffalo, N.Y./Bishop Timon) finished with 12 points and added four rebounds while playing 31 minutes.
 
Lock Haven scored the initial four points of the contest before the Vulcans answered with six-straight points to take a 6-4 lead with 16:36 remaining in the first half. The game would be tied two more times until Cal U went on a 14-4 run after making six-of-seven from the floor to take a 23-13 advantage. During that stretch, the Bald Eagles were held to just two made shots and forced into three turnovers. Lock Haven snapped the drought with consecutive three-pointers before trading the next four buckets. The Vulcans responded with a 10-3 rally to take a 40-27 lead with 6:18 left in the half after Williams and MacAdams both made three-pointers. The teams exchanged the next eight points until the Bald Eagles scored six of the next eight points to trim the deficit to 46-37. Sophomore Ike Okwara (Lahnam, Md./Friendship Collegiate Academy) would close the first half with a three-point play, as the Vulcans held a 50-39 lead at halftime.
 
In the opening four-plus minutes of the second half both teams traded points before an 8-3 run from the Vulcans extended the lead to 64-50 with 15:08 left. The Bald Eagles countered with four-unanswered points while Cal U was held scoreless for nearly three minutes. Pegram snapped the scoreless run with the layup and the Vulcans continued to hold the a 70-61 advantage at the 9:45-mark. After each team failed to score for nearly two minutes, the Bald Eagles responded with a 6-1 run to close the gap 71-67 with 6:36 remaining. Cal U answered with an identical 6-1 run over the next four minutes to take a 77-68 advantage, but would be held to one point in the final three minutes of the game. Lock Haven scored six-unanswered points to cut the deficit to one possession at 77-74 with 33 seconds left. The Bald Eagles missed a chance to tie the score with five seconds remaining before a foul and free-throw from Williams sealed the 78-74 victory.

Cal U finished the game with a .500 field-goal percentage (30-of-60) and made 12-of-18 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Lock Haven shot 45.0 percent (27-of-60) from the floor while converting 14-of-20 (70.0 percent) from the free-throw line. The Bald Eagles held a 37-32 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans scored 22 points off of 16 turnovers.
 
Sophomore Jesse McPherson tallied 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting and added nine rebounds, two steals and three blocks. Junior Christian Kelly posted 15 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks, while freshman Noah Warren finished with 11 points and two assists off the bench.
 
Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 16, when it travels to face Pitt-Johnstown in PSAC West action with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.