CALIFORNIA (Dec. 18) – The Vulcans erased a 15-point deficit in the second half despite an injury to their starting point guard before suffering a 92-90 loss against West Chester in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play at the Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team drops to 6-3 overall with a 1-2 mark in league action. The Vulcans have dropped their three games this year by a combined 11 points while ranking second in the conference with 88.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the Golden Rams improve to 7-2 this season behind a 2-2 record in league play.

Sophomore Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) scored a team-high 29 points and posted 13 rebounds (six offensive) for his fifth double-double of the season. He shot 9-of-15 from the floor and converted 11-of-17 from the free-throw line in the contest. Alston also tied his career highs of four assists and four blocks while playing 32 minutes on Saturday.

Freshman Bryson Lucas (Clarksburg, W.Va./Robert C. Byrd) set a season high with 16 points on five-of-six shooting and five-of-seven from the free-throw line. He also collected three rebounds while playing 24 minutes off the bench. Senior Preston Boswell (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) scored 14 points behind 8-of-10 from the free-throw line and added three steals, while freshman Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) tallied 13 points on three-of-five from long range and six rebounds. Junior Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) registered 12 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals against West Chester.

The Golden Rams scored six-straight points early in the second half to build their largest lead of the game at 60-45 with 16:34 left to play. Cal U countered with six-consecutive points to trim the deficit to 60-51 on a layup by Collins at the 15:11-mark. Following a three-pointer by the Golden Rams, the Vulcans mounted a 19-4 run behind a combined 15 points from Alston and Lucas to take a 70-67 lead with 8:40 remaining. The game remained a single-possession contest until West Chester scored five-of-six points to take an 85-81 lead with 2:02 left to play. The Golden Rams stretched the lead to 91-83 with 20 seconds remaining before the Vulcans converted seven-of-seven from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to 91-90 with six seconds left to play. West Chester converted the second of two free-throws on the next possession before a last-second three-pointer by Cal U was unsuccessful.

Cal U opened the game on an 8-2 run before West Chester countered with a 17-6 rally over three-plus minutes to take a 19-14 lead with 11:53 left before halftime. Palek made a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 22-19 before the Golden Rams scored seven of nine points to claim a 29-21 lead at the 8:28-mark. West Chester maintained the eight-point lead when senior Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr), who is the active scoring and steals leader in the PSAC and a two-time All-PSAC West selection, was forced from the game due to injury with 2:54 left to play. Alston converted a pair of free-throws before the Golden Rams seized control with a 10-3 run to take a 50-37 lead with 41 seconds remaining. Cal U managed to score a pair of baskets in the final 11 seconds of the first half to cut the deficit to 50-41 at the break.

Pegram returned to the court twice in the second half and was held scoreless while playing just under six minutes. He was forced to the bench due to injury for the final 11:22 of the contest.

The Vulcans finished the game shooting 42.0 percent (29-of-69) from the floor despite a season-low 19.0 percent (4-of-21) from three-point territory. Cal U also converted 28-of-41 (68.3 percent) from the free-throw line after West Chester was whistled for 33 fouls. Meanwhile, the Golden Rams shot at 44.4 clip (32-of-72) from the field and went 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) from long range. Both teams finished with 43 rebounds and combined for over 80 points in the paint.

West Chester freshman Robert Smith led the team with 21 points after shooting 6-of-17 from the floor, including 3-of-10 from long range, and six-of-seven from the free-throw line. Sophomore Matt Dade recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds (four offensive) while battling foul trouble, while junior Eli Barrett finished with 12 points and three rebounds.

Cal U continues PSAC Crossover play tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 19, when it hosts Millersville at 3 p.m.