INDIANA, Pa. (Jan. 18) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team was unable to halt a second-half surge on Saturday night and suffered an 86-69 loss at No. 7 IUP in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 11-6 overall with a 7-4 record in conference action. Cal U saw its four-game winning streak snapped and sit fourth in the divisional standings. Meanwhile, the Crimson Hawks remain undefeated at home with a 9-0 record and improve to 15-1 this season behind a 10-1 mark in league play.
Freshman
Luke House (Norristown, Pa./Archbishop John Carroll) tallied 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting, plus seven rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes. He has paced the team in scoring in consecutive contests, while averaging 16.3 points and 6.2 rebounds over the previous six games.
Fellow freshman
Tim Smith, Jr. (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) registered 17 points on 7-of-12 attempts, plus six rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes. The Ohio native is averaging 11.2 points and 5.8 rebounds over the last five games. Sophomore
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) totaled 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 32 minutes, while junior
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) finished with 13 points and two assists in just 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
Cal U built an 11-2 advantage in the initial two-plus minutes of the contest, led by House with six points. Pegram then picked up his second foul just over three minutes into the game, but the Vulcans scored 11 of the next 13 points to hold a 22-4 lead at the 11:24-mark. The Crimson Hawks answered with an 8-2 rally to close the gap to 24-12 before Cal U stretched the lead to 30-14 with 6:17 left in the first half. Over the next three-plus minutes, IUP mounted an 11-1 run to trim the deficit to 31-25 with 2:27 remaining. The Vulcans were held without a made field-goal for over five minutes before sophomore
Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) made a jumper to give Cal U a 33-28 lead heading into halftime.
The Crimson Hawks quickly tied the contest at 39-39 in the opening three minutes of the second half before the Vulcans reclaimed the lead, 49-44, at the 14:35-mark after a 10-5 run. IUP then countered with a 12-2 rally to take a 56-51 advantage, but Smith answered with a four-point play to cut the deficit to 56-55 with 11:40 left. The Crimson Hawks would build the lead to 66-58 before Pegram scored seven-straight points to trim the deficit to 72-65 with 6:23 remaining in the second half. IUP used a 14-4 run over the final six minutes to secure an 86-69 win on Saturday.
Cal U made 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the floor and converted just 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) from long range. In comparison, IUP shot 69.7 percent in the second half and finished the game with a .508 field-goal percentage (32-of-63). The Crimson Hawks also made 13-of-19 attempts (68.4 percent) from the free-throw line. IUP finished with a slim 35-34 rebounding advantage and scored 18 points off 18 turnovers forced, while Cal U scored 28 points in the paint.
Senior Malik Miller finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, plus five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 35 minutes. Freshman Ethan Porterfield tallied 17 points on 7-of-10 attempts and added seven rebounds and three blocks in 37 minutes of action. Redshirt sophomore Armoni Foster posted 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks, while teammate Dave Morris totaled 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Vulcans return to PSAC West play on Wednesday, Jan. 22, when they close out their road trip at Gannon in Erie, Pennsylvania, starting at 7:30 p.m.
