CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Nov. 12) – The Vulcans earned their first win over a nationally-ranked team since 2014 on Friday evening by posting a 96-92 victory at No. 25 Charleston (W.Va.) while opening the season at the Wehrle Innovation Center.
With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team starts the year with a 1-0 mark for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign. The Vulcans also secured their first victory over a top-25 team since recording a win at then-No. 5 IUP on Jan. 18, 2014. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles begin the season with a 0-1 record after advancing to the semifinals of the 2021 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament and earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The Vulcans featured five players in double-figures with senior
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) tallying a team-high 23 points after shooting four-of-eight from behind the arc and 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. He also collected four rebounds and four assists while playing 30 minutes. Senior transfer
Preston Boswell (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) scored 18 points on six-of-eight shooting from the field and five-of-seven from the free-throw line, plus added three rebounds and three assists.
Sophomore
Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) tallied a career-high 18 points and registered seven rebounds, while junior
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) added 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting on Friday. Freshman
Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15 points and six rebounds in his college debut.
The Vulcans opened the game on a 13-5 run behind three three-pointers. Cal U then extended its lead to 28-14 with a 15-6 run behind seven points by Collins. Charleston responded with an 11-7 rally to cut the deficit to 35-25 with less then seven minutes remaining in the first half. The teams traded the next 10 points before Cal U took a 45-30 advantage on lay-ups from Palek and Boswell. The Golden Eagles ended the half on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 47-37 at the break.
The teams scored the initial points of the second half before Charleston went on a 15-7 run when it went seven-of-seven from the field to tie that score at 56-56 with 14:53 remaining. The Vulcans countered with a 9-5 run to regain the lead at 65-61 on a lay-up from Alston. The Golden Eagles responded with a 9-5 run of their own to trim the lead to 76-75 at the 5:25-mark. Pegram made two free-throws before Cal U pushed the lead back to double-digits with an 11-2 run to lead by an 89-77 margin. Charleston trimmed the lead to 92-85 with an 8-3 run with 47 seconds remaining. Pegram and freshman
DJ Slaughter (Manassas, Va./Saint John Paul the Great) converted four-of-six free-throws in the final 38 seconds to seal the victory.
The Vulcans finished the game shooting 35-of-63 from the field (55.6 percent) and 44.4 percent (9-of-21) from long range. Cal U also made 17-of-26 free-throws (65.4 percent) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles shot at a 54.1 clip (33-of-61) from the floor and converted 13-of-25 attempts (52.0 percent) from three-point territory. Charleston held a 31-29 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans registered 10 steals in the victory.
The Vulcans continue play at the season-opening event tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 13, when they face Glenville State at 2 p.m.
