CALIFORNIA (Jan. 3) – The Vulcans were held to a season-low shooting performance on Friday night in a 77-57 loss versus Pitt-Johnstown in the opening game of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at the Convocation Center.
With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball falls to 7-5 this season behind a 3-3 mark in league play. Meanwhile, UPJ improves to 11-2 overall with a 5-1 record in conference action and remains tied for first place in the divisional standings.
Sophomore
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) scored a game-high 17 points (all in the second half) on six-of-nine shooting, plus three rebounds, two assists, three blocks and four steals in 35 minutes. The Virginia native is averaging 19.7 points over the last three games while shooting 52.5 percent from the field.
Junior
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) finished with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals in 38 minutes. Freshman
Luke House (Norristown, Pa./Archbishop John Carroll) totaled 12 points and six rebounds in 38 minutes, while sophomore
Jermaine Hall, Jr. (Baltimore, Md./Severn School) scored eight points and added seven rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes.
The Mountain Cats established an early 9-4 lead in the initial four-plus minutes of the game before House cut into the deficit with a three-pointer. UPJ responded with a 15-4 run after shooting 7-of-10 from the field to build a 24-11 lead at the 10:02-mark. The Vulcans would score six of the next seven points to close the gap to 25-17 before the Mountain Cats mounted a 10-1 rally to stretch the advantage to 35-18 with 4:07 left in the first half. Both teams traded baskets over the remaining four minutes of the half, as UPJ held a 41-25 lead at the break.
Pitt-Johnstown continued to extend the advantage in the second half after making six-of-nine from the field in the opening five minutes to build a 57-30 lead. During that span, the Vulcans were held without a field goal and forced into three turnovers. Cal U would fight back with 10-unanswered points to cut the deficit to 57-40 at the 12:14-mark before the teams exchanged points over the next three-plus minutes. Collins then scored four-straight points to close the gap to 63-50 before a 10-3 run stretched the advantage to 73-53 with 3:35 left in the contest.
The Vulcans finished the game with a season-low .292 field-goal percentage (19-of-65) and made just 6-of-34 (17.6 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Mountain Cats shot 50.0 percent (29-of-58) from the floor and converted 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from the free-throw line. Pitt-Johnstown held a 43-33 rebounding advantage and scored 38 points in the paint, while Cal U tallied 17 points off turnovers.
UPJ featured four players in double-figures, led by sophomore Fred Mulbah with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 34 minutes. Sophomore John Paul Kromka, the 2019 PSAC West Defensive and Freshman of the Year, tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and five blocks in the win. Sophomore Caiden Landis also scored 13 points on six-of-nine attempts, plus eight rebounds and three assists, while senior Josh Wise totaled 12 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes.
Cal U returns to action on Monday, Jan. 6, when it travels to face Slippery Rock in PSAC West play, starting at 7:30 p.m.
