CALIFORNIA (Dec. 19) - Junior guard Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) scored a career-high 34 points on Sunday afternoon, as the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team earned an 87-76 victory over Millersville in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover action.
With the win, the Vulcans improve 7-3 this season with a 2-2 record in league play. Cal U also posted its first home victory in the series with Millersville since the 2011-12 campaign. Meanwhile, the Marauders fall to 7-3 overall behind a 2-3 mark in conference action.
Collins scored 34 points while shooting 14-of-21 from the floor, including four-of-six from beyond the arc. He added six rebounds and five assists while playing nearly all 40 minutes. Collins eclipsed 30 points for the first time in his career after he scored 24 points in the second half on 10-of-11 shooting.
Freshman
Bryson Lucas (Clarksburg, W.Va./Robert C. Byrd) posted 14 points, seven rebounds and one block in 20 minutes off the bench. He made four-of-five from beyond the arc on Sunday after entering play with four three-pointers on the season. Fellow freshman
Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) recorded his third double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds and added three assists. He has now tallied double-digit rebounds three times in the last four games.
Senior
Preston Boswell (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) finished with 11 points, five assists and two steals while playing all 40 minutes in the victory. Sophomore
Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) was limited to season lows of nine points and three rebounds in 11 minutes after battling foul trouble throughout the game.
Facing an early deficit, Millersville scored seven-straight points to take a 14-10 lead with 14:24 left in the first half. The Vulcans later mounted a 7-2 run to tie the score at 21-21 on a pair of free-throws by Boswell at the 10:36-mark. The Marauders scored five of the next seven points to reclaim the lead at 26-23 with 9:18 remaining before the break. Cal U later countered with a 13-2 rally behind three treys by Lucas over nearly five minutes to claim a 43-33 lead at the 1:09-mark. The teams traded three-pointers in the final minute of the first half before the Vulcans took a 46-37 lead at the break.
The Marauders opened the second half on a 9-2 run to trim the deficit to 48-46 with 17:10 left to play. Cal U responded with a 9-3 rally behind seven points from Collins to stretch the lead to 57-49 at the 13:36-mark. Millersville eventually cut the deficit to a single-possession at 59-56 with 12:00 remaining following a 7-2 run over a minute. Midway through the half, the Vulcans scored eight-straight points to stretch the lead to 74-62 on a jumper by Collins with 6:15 left to play. The Marauders again trimmed the deficit to single digits at 80-72 at the 2:26-mark before the Vulcans sealed the victory with a 7-2 run to extend the lead to 87-74 with 49 seconds left to play.
Cal U shot nearly 60 percent in the second half and finished the game with a .524 field-goal percentage (33-of-63), including a 43.5 clip (10-of-23) from long range. Meanwhile, the Marauders made 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the floor and 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) from three-point territory. Cal U finished with a 36-29 rebounding advantage and scored 14 second-chance points. The Vulcans committed only 11 turnovers in the victory.
Millersville senior Justin Nwosu led the team with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including four-of-eight from beyond the arc. He also added six rebounds and two assists in the contest. Graduate student James Sullivan finished with 17 points behind three treys and classmate Caden Najdawi posted eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
The Vulcans are idle for two weeks before hosting Kutztown on Jan. 2 in PSAC Crossover play at 3 p.m.
