MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (Dec. 21) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team used a trio of three-pointers in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime before claiming a 106-102 double-overtime win at Millersville in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.

With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 7-4 overall with a 3-2 record in conference action. Cal U scored its most points in game since Nov. 24, 2014 when it recorded 108 points in a win against Penn State-Greater Allegheny. Meanwhile, the Marauders fall to 5-6 this season behind a 2-3 mark in league play.

Junior Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) registered his second 30-point game this week and posted his first career double-double on Saturday. He led all players with 31 points on 9-of-18 from the floor and 11-of-13 from the free-throw line, plus totaled 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals while playing all 50 minutes. Pegram now leads the team this season with 20.3 points, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

Sophomore Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) set a career high with 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting and 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. He also added three rebounds, six assists and one block while playing all 50 minutes. Collins recorded his second 20-point game of the season after being held to a combined 28 points over the last three games.
 
Freshman Tim Smith, Jr. (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) scored a season-high 19 points behind five-of-eight from beyond the arc while playing 41 minutes off the bench. He also finished with nine rebounds (four offensive) and two blocks. Classmate Luke House (Norristown, Pa./Archbishop John Carroll) posted 16 points, five rebounds and two assists while playing all 50 minutes.

Millersville scored five of the initial seven points in the second overtime to take a 102-99 lead with 3:04 remaining. The Vulcans were held scoreless for two minutes before converting a pair of free-throws at the 1:31-mark. Pegram made a layup on the next possession to give Cal U a 103-102 lead with 54 seconds left. Collins made one of two from the charity stripe to make it a 104-102 contest before the Marauders missed a three-pointer and Pegram added a pair of insurance free-throws in the final second.

Pegram made a layup in the opening seconds of the first overtime before Millersville scored four-straight points to take a 92-90 lead with 3:49 left. Pegram scored baskets on the next two possessions, as the Vulcans reclaimed the lead at 94-92 at the 3:03-mark before the Marauders converted a three-point play. Millersville held a 97-94 lead with 56 seconds left in the period before Collins tied the contest on the ensuing possession with a traditional three-point play.

Midway through the second half, Cal U mounted an 11-4 run in just over two minutes to cut the deficit to 59-57 at the 12:26-mark behind back-to-back three-pointers from House. The Marauders countered with an 11-3 run to stretch the lead to 70-60 with 8:30 left in regulation before the teams traded points for the next of couple minutes. Collins then scored eight-straight points for Cal U to trim the deficit to 79-73 at the 4:51-mark. The teams went nearly three minutes without a field goal, as they combined for 15 points at the free-throw line. Collins and Smith then each made a three-pointer to tie the game at 85-85 with 1:11 left in regulation. The Marauders converted a three-point play before Smith answered with a game-tying three-pointer with 39 seconds left. Cal U then prevented Millersville from scoring on a pair of last-second three-pointers to force the game to overtime.

In the first half, both teams traded points over the initial three-plus minutes, as Cal U held an 8-7 advantage led by Collins with four points. Millersville countered with eight-unanswered points to claim a 15-8 lead before the Vulcans went on a 6-0 rally to close the gap to 15-14 at the 12:40-mark. The Marauders found success at the free-throw line to stretch the advantage to 26-21 before Cal U responded with a 9-4 run to tie the contest at 30-30. Millersville then went on a 7-0 rally before the Vulcans scored four-straight point to trail 37-34 at the break.

Cal U shot 50.0 percent in the second half and finished the game with a .429 field-goal percentage (33-of-77). The Vulcans also converted 13-of-33 (39.4 percent) from beyond the arc and 84.4 percent (27-of-32) from the free-throw line. In comparison, the Marauders made 43.8 percent (35-of-80) from the floor behind 11-of-35 (31.4 percent) from long range. Millersville finished with a 50-41 rebounding advantage and scored 48 points in the paint in the loss.

Junior Caden Najdawi scored a team-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting and finished with 18 rebounds (six offensive), three assists and three steals while playing 49 minutes. Classmate Khari Williams added 20 points, while sophomore Brandon Craig posted 13 rebounds (five offensive) and five blocks in 35 minutes off the bench.
 
The Vulcans are idle for nearly two weeks before opening PSAC West action on Jan. 3 versus Pitt-Johnstown at the Convocation Center with tip-off at 7:30 p.m.