INDIANA, Pa. (Jan. 23) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team was unable to overcome an early second-half run on Wednesday night and suffered a 81-56 loss at No. 4 IUP in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the loss, the Vulcans drop to 6-11 overall with a 4-7 record in league action. The contest marked the first time Cal U played a top-five opponent since the 2016-17 campaign when it faced then-No. 2 IUP. Meanwhile, the Crimson Hawks won their 12th-consecutive home contest to improve to 17-1 this season behind a 10-1 mark in league play.
Sophomore
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) tied a game high with 18 points behind four-of-six from the free-throw line. He added three rebounds and four assists while playing 38 minutes on Wednesday. Pegram continues to pace the team in scoring this year with 18.4 points per game.
Redshirt junior
Donte' Williams (Buffalo, N.Y./Bishop Timon) finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, two steals and one block in 38 minutes, while freshman
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) scored 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in 37 minutes. Freshman
Collin MacAdams (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) recorded 12 points, six rebounds and two assists in 40 minutes.
IUP took an early 11-8 advantage in the first half behind three shots from beyond the arc. The Crimson Hawks continued the momentum with five-straight points to build the lead to 16-8 at the 13:45-mark. Pegram answered with a three-pointer to close the gap before both teams went scoreless for nearly a three-minute stretch. Collins snapped the drought on a jumper, but IUP countered with a layup to extend the lead to 18-13 with 10:30 remaining. Both teams would miss the next four shots and turnover the ball over four times in the next two minutes. After little separation past the midway point of the first half, IUP would stretch the advantage to 27-21 before Cal U scored five of the next seven points to cut the deficit to 28-26 with 4:20 left. The Crimson Hawks extended the lead to 33-26 before the Vulcans went on an 8-4 run to close the gap to 37-34 at the 1:30-mark. IUP later collected a three-point play in the closing seconds to take a 40-34 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Crimson Hawks established a 10-2 rally in the initial three-plus minutes to take a 50-36 lead with 16:29 left before both teams went scoreless for nearly two minutes. After exchanging the next four baskets, IUP would expand the advantage to 63-47 at the 8:41-mark after an 8-3 rally until Pegram snapped the run at the free-throw line with a pair of shots. The Crimson Hawks would close out the game on an 18-8 run after making 8-of-13 shots, while holding the Vulcans to two-made field goals in the final eight minutes.
The Vulcans shot 34.5 (20-of-58) from the field while converting 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from the free-throw line in the contest. Meanwhile, the Crimson Hawks finished the game with .403 field-goal percentage (29-of-72) and made 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the charity stripe. IUP held a commanding 48-31 rebounding advantage and scored 25 second-chance points on 21 offensive boards.
Senior Jacobo Diaz posted a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds (eight offensive), plus four assists and two steals in 33 minutes. Junior Malik Miller collected 18 points, two rebounds and three assists, while senior Dante Lombardi registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists, plus eight rebounds and three steals. Senior Marko Krivacevic, a transfer from Duquesne, added 12 points and two rebounds off the bench.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Jan. 26, when they host Mercyhurst in PSAC West play at the Convocation Center, starting at 3 p.m.
