SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. (Nov. 9) – The Vulcans suffered a 72-71 defeat to Charleston (W.Va.) after losing as time expired on a game-winning three-pointer on Saturday evening at the Clarion Hotel Classic hosted by Shepherd.
 
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 0-2 this season after dropping the opening two games of the year by a combined three points. Meanwhile, Charleston improves to 2-0 overall after being selected second in the preseason Mountain East Conference (MEC) poll.
 
Junior Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) led the team in scoring for a second-straight contest after tallying 16 points behind 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. He added three rebounds, four assists and four steals while playing all 40 minutes.
 
Freshman Luke House (Norristown, Pa./Archbishop John Carroll) scored a season-high 14 points on four-of-eight shooting and tallied three rebounds in 40 minutes of play. Sophomore Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) also finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 from the floor and totaled four rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes. Classmate Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) scored seven points and registered a team-leading six rebounds in 18 minutes.
 
In the second half, the Golden Eagles built their largest lead of the game at 13 points, 42-29 at the 17:15-mark, following a 9-4 run over a two-plus minute stretch. Redshirt sophomore Philip Alexander (Laurel, Md./Mt. Zion Prep) responded with five-straight points and Pegram followed with seven more points to cut the deficit to 44-41 with 13:46 left. Charleston then scored five-unanswered points over nearly a four-minute span to build a 49-41 advantage, while the Vulcans were held scoreless and forced into three turnovers. Cal U started to slowly chip away at the deficit by converting a perfect four-of-four from the floor, led by House with five points, to trail by a 59-54 margin with 6:48 remaining. After two scoreless minutes by both teams, the Vulcans drained four-straight shots and forced five turnovers to tie the game at 65-65 following a three-point play by Collins at the 2:02-mark. The Golden Eagles quickly made a three-pointer to reclaim the lead before Cal U went on a 6-0 run to take a 71-68 lead with 41 seconds left. During the run, the Vulcans converted four-of-four from the charity stripe. Cal U would miss a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining before Charleston made one of-two from the line to close the gap to 71-69 with eight seconds on the clock. Following a block on a layup attempt, the Golden Eagles quickly pushed the ball into transition and nailed the game-winning three-pointer as time expired to escape with a 72-71 win.
 
Hall knocked down a three-pointer to begin the contest before Charleston scored seven of the next nine points to hold a 7-5 lead at the 14:53-mark of the first half. The Vulcans would tie the contest at 12-12 after making three-of-four from the field and forcing three turnovers. The Golden Eagles stretched the lead to 17-14 with 7:25 left in the first half before Cal U managed to tally six of the next nine points to tie the contest at 20-20 with 4:23 remaining. Charleston closed the first half on a 13-5 run after converting five-of-eight from the field to take a 33-25 lead in the break.
 
The Vulcans finished the game with a .512 field-goal percentage (21-of-41) and made 23-of-31 (74.2 percent) from free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles shot 41.9 percent (23-of-55) from the floor and while converting 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Charleston held a 36-24 rebounding advantage, while Cal U scored 22 points off of 22 forced turnovers.
 
Senior Devon Robinson finished with a double-double after scoring a game-high 18 points and collecting 11 rebounds. He also tallied four steals and two blocks in 32 minutes of action. Junior Lamont McManus finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 32 minutes of action. An All-MEC First-Team selection last year, senior Drew Rackley recorded 14 points on 5-of-11 from the field - highlighted by the game-winning three-pointer in the win.
 
Cal U hosts its home-opener on Wednesday, Nov. 13, when it faces Salem in non-conference play in the Convocation Center at 7:30 p.m.