CALIFORNIA (Feb. 13) – A second-half comeback by the Vulcans versus Gannon fell short by a 70-69 margin after a blocking foul and a pair of free-throws with 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime on Wednesday night at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team drops to 7-15 overall with a 5-11 mark in league action after playing its first overtime contest this year. The Vulcans fall to seventh place in the divisional standings, but trail Seton Hill by 1.5 games for the final playoff spot following a victory at Edinboro. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights improve to 9-15 this season behind a 7-10 record in conference play.
Redshirt junior
Donte' Williams (Buffalo, N.Y./Bishop Timon) posted his first double-double with the Vulcans after tallying 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 11 rebounds, plus two blocks, in 36 minutes off the bench. He tallied his 10th contest this season in double-figures and is averaging 11.5 rebounds over his previous two games.
Freshman
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) led the team with 19 points after totaling 15 points in the second half and overtime period. He shot 9-of-16 from the floor and added four rebounds and four assists in a season-high 43 minutes. Collins is averaging 20.0 points per game over the last four contests.
Fellow freshman
Collin MacAdams (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) collected his fourth double-double of the season by recording 15 points on 6-of-11 attempts and recording a game-high 13 rebounds in 29 minutes due to foul trouble. Sophomore
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) finished with 13 points, two rebounds and six assists while playing a career-high 43 minutes.
In overtime, Collins wasted little time putting the Vulcans ahead on a jumper in the initial 12 second of the extra period. Gannon responded with six-unanswered points on three free-throw and a three-pointer to take a 68-64 lead with 1:53 remaining in overtime. Following a timeout by Cal U, Williams made one-of-two from the line to cut the deficit to one possession before Collins made a jumper at the 1:02-mark to trail 68-67. After a pair of misses from the Golden Knights and a timeout from the Vulcans, Collins knocked down a runner to take a 69-68 advantage with 9.9 seconds left. After the inbound pass, Gannon drew a blocking foul with 1.6 seconds left and made a pair at the charity stripe before a half-court shot from Collins missed the mark to seal the 70-69 victory for the Golden Knights.
Both teams were scoreless over the initial two-plus minutes of the first half before Gannon established an 8-2 advantage after converting three-of-six from the field and forcing three turnovers. Cal U responded with a three-pointer from Williams and a jumper by MacAdams to cut the deficit to 8-7 at the 14:15-mark. The Golden Knights answered with a 10-5 run to build a 18-12 lead, while Williams scored all five points to keep the Vulcans within striking distance. Gannon stretched the advantage to 27-17 with 3:48 left in the first half until Cal U closed the gap to 29-23 by scoring six of the next eight points. The Golden Knights knocked down a jumper in the final seconds of the first half to take a 31-23 lead into the break.
Gannon used a 10-4 run over the initial five-plus minutes of the second half to take the largest lead of the game at 41-27 at the 14:45-mark. The Vulcans made four of their next five shots, including five points from Pegram, to close the gap to 46-38 at the midway point of the second half. The Golden Knights answered with four-straight points before Cal U registered a 14-2 rally to tie the game at 52-52 with 5:06 left in regulation after making six-of-eight from the field. Gannon countered with three-consecutive made shots to take a 60-56 lead with just over two minutes left. Williams made a layup with under a minute left to trail 62-60 before Collins made a jumper to tie the game with 34 seconds left. The Vulcans took the final shot of regulation, but the ball rimmed out to send the game to overtime.
The Vulcans shot 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the field after shooting 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) in the second half. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights finished the game with a .375 field-goal percentage and made 16-of-20 attempts (80.0 percent) from the free-throw line. Cal U held a 43-40 rebounding advantage and scored 20 points off the bench, while both teams totaled 13 points off turnovers.
Junior DeAnte Cisero led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting behind 8-of-10 from the free-throw line and added five rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. Freshman Kevin Dodds finished with 16 points on 7-of-12 shots and tallied nine rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of action. Senior Joe Fustine registered a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while adding five assists and two steals, in 39 minutes.
Cal U closes its homestand on Saturday, Feb. 16, when it hosts Pitt-Johnstown at Hamer Hall with tipoff set for 3 p.m.
