EDINBORO, Pa. (Jan. 2) – The Vulcans shot nearly 63 percent in the second half and sophomore
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) finished with a career-high 34 points, as the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team posted a 90-66 victory at Edinboro on Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 4-7 overall with a 2-3 mark in league play. Cal U earned its first victory at the McComb Fieldhouse since the 2014-15 campaign. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots drop to 4-6 this season behind a 1-4 record in conference action.
Pegram set a career high in points after shooting 13-of-18 from the field and knocked down a career-high eight from beyond the arc. He added five assists and four steals while playing 38 minutes. Pegram has tallied two 30-point games this season and leads the team in scoring at 17.7 points per game.
Freshmen
Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) and
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) both posted a double-double against the Fighting Scots. Hall notched his fourth double-double of the season after totaling 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes. Collins nearly finished with a triple-double with 14 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, eight assists, while also tallying three steals and two blocks in 38 minutes of play.
Freshman
Collin MacAdams (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) also contributed 14 points and made five-of-six from the charity stripe in the game. He notched seven rebounds while playing 38 minutes at Edinboro.
Cal U open the contest with a three-point play from Collins before Edinboro responded with a 13-1 run to take a 13-4 advantage with 13:58 remaining in the first half. Collins halted the stretch with a jumper followed by a three-pointer from Pegram. The Fighting Scots led 15-11 with 12:23 left in the half before Pegram scored the next seven points for the Vulcans, as Edinboro continued to hold a 23-18 lead. Cal U chipped away at the lead from the free-throw line with five-straight points before claiming the lead on a layup from junior
Jordan Gessner (Elizabethville, Pa./Upper Dauphin) to take a 28-27 advantage at the 3:48-mark. The Vulcans stretched the lead with seven-consecutive points before the Fighting Scots stopped the rally on a jumper in the final minute. Cal U held a 35-29 advantage heading into the break.
After trading the initial two buckets in the second half, the Vulcans scored seven-unanswered points to take a 44-31 lead at the 17:52-mark. Edinboro countered with an 11-2 rally to trim the deficit to 47-42. Hall responded with a jumper and Pegram made back-to-back three-pointers to stretch the lead before Cal U went on a 9-2 run to take a 64-44 advantage with 11:47 remaining. The Vulcans continued to hold a commanding lead through the midway point of the second half before nine-consecutive points extended the advantage to 78-50 with 7:17 left. Both teams accounted for one basket over the next two minutes before exchanging points over the final five-plus minutes of the contest.
The Vulcans shot 47.9 (34-of-71) from the field while converting 13-of-28 attempts (46.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots finished the game with a .415 field-goal percentage (27-of-65) and made just 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) from three-point range. Edinboro held a slight 40-38 rebounding advantage, while Cal U scored 27 points off 16 turnovers.
Junior transfer Daylon Harris posted 23 points on 10-of-16 attempts and added two rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes. Sophomore Jaryn Simpson finished with 11 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals, while senior Trey Stauch tallied 10 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Jan. 5, when they travel to face Gannon in PSAC West play, starting at 3 p.m
