EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. (Dec. 4) – The Vulcans battled foul trouble and nearly erased a 16-point deficit on Friday night before suffering an 89-82 loss at East Stroudsburg in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team falls to 5-2 this season with a 1-1 mark in league action. Meanwhile, the Warriors improve to 2-3 overall behind a 2-1 record in conference action. East Stroudsburg was picked second in the preseason PSAC East poll after winning five divisional titles since 2013.

Senior transfer Preston Boswell (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) registered his second 20-point game of the year on Saturday after leading the team with 20 points. He made six-of-nine from the floor and converted six-of-six from the three-throw line. Boswell is averaging 13.9 points per game this season and has now scored over 1,330 points in his collegiate career.

Freshman Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) posted his second double-double of the season at East Stroudsburg. He scored a season-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including three-of-five from beyond the arc, and tied season high with 10 rebounds (three offensive), plus added three assists. Junior Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) scored 17 points on 5-of-10 from the field and six-of-six from the charity stripe and collected eight rebounds (three offensive) and four assists. Sophomore Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) finished with 16 points on 8-of-16 from the field and eight rebounds before fouling out.

The Warriors posted a 9-2 run early in the contest to build a 12-7 lead at the 17:12-mark after making four three-pointers in the opening minutes. Cal U countered by scoring seven of nine points to tie the score at 14-14 on a three-pointer by Collins with 14:58 left in the first half. East Stroudsburg later made six-straight shots from the floor during a 19-3 run to claim a 33-17 advantage with 11:52 remaining before the break. Early in the run, senior Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) was forced to the bench for over 10 minutes due to foul trouble. The Vulcans countered with nine-unanswered points to trim the deficit to 33-26 at the 9:05-mark. East Stroudsburg later posted an 11-2 run to extend the lead to 16 points, 52-36, with 3:08 left in the first half and held a 56-44 lead at the break.

Cal U scored the opening eight points of the second half to cut the margin to 56-52 and later made it one-possession game at 61-58 on a layup by Alston with 13:24 left to play. The Warriors extended the lead to 70-61 with five-straight points before Boswell converted a three-point play to work the deficit to 70-67 at the 8:39-mark. Cal U managed to keep the score within one possession to the final three minutes before East Stroudsburg stretched the lead to seven points, 85-78, with 52 seconds remaining. The teams traded free-throws before the Warriors sealed the victory with two free-throws in the closing seconds.

The Vulcans finished the game shooting 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from the field while going just 6-of-20 (30.0 percent) from beyond the arc. In comparison, the Warriors shot at a 42.4 clip (28-of-66) from the floor after going 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from long range in the first half. Cal U recorded a 47-36 rebounding advantage and scored 42 points inside the paint. The Vulcans committed a season-high 22 turnovers in the loss.

East Stroudsburg sophomore Justin Paz scored a team-high 20 points behind 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. Freshman Lakeem McAliley totaled 18 points, five rebounds and four steals, while junior Carlos Pepin registered a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds (five offensive).

Cal U is idle for over a week before returning to action on Dec. 15 when it hosts Carlow in non-conference play at 6 p.m.