CLARION, Pa. (Jan. 19) – Behind a trio of starters that accounted for over 65 points, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team captured a 75-67 win at Clarion on Wednesday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 10-4 this season with a 5-3 mark in league play. Cal U has won four of the last five road meetings in the series and eight of the last nine overall contests. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles drop to 6-7 overall behind a 2-6 record in conference action.
Sophomore
Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) registered his league-leading ninth double-double of the season. He finished with 29 points on 13-of-24 shooting and 17 rebounds (five offensive), plus added four blocks and two steals, in the win. Alston is averaging 15.8 rebounds over his last four games, totaling at least 14 in each game during the stretch.
Junior
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) posted his fourth 20-point game of the season, scoring 20 points on 7-of-17 from the field. He also collected six rebounds and three assists while playing 37 minutes. Senior
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) recorded 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals on Wednesday. Freshman
Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) tied his season high with 13 rebounds (four offensive) and added seven points while playing his first game in a month.
Cal U posted a 9-3 run in the opening minutes of the game to take an 11-8 lead at the 15:31-mark. The Golden Eagles countered with a 9-2 rally to take a 17-13 lead before the Vulcans responded with six-straight points to reclaim the lead at 19-17 with 12:17 left in the first half. Clarion later converted a trio of three-pointers in less than a minute to seize a 32-26 lead at the 6:43-mark. Cal U answered with a 14-1 run over four minutes to take a 40-33 lead on a layup by Alston with 1:56 remaining before the break. The Vulcans held a 42-35 lead at halftime after holding the Golden Eagles without a field goal over the final 6:43 of the half.
The Vulcans started the second half on a 9-2 run to take a 51-37 lead on a jumper by Collins with 17:02 remaining. Clarion countered with 10-unanswered points and later trimmed the deficit to 53-51 at the 12:09-mark. The Golden Eagles then mounted a 10-4 rally to take a 61-59 lead with 7:03 left to play. Cal U responded with an 11-4 run to reclaim the lead at 70-65 on a pair of free-throws by Collins at the 2:17-mark. Clarion answered with a pair of free-throws on the next possession before being held scoreless for the remainder of the game, as Cal U scored five points over the last 75 seconds.
Cal U was held to a season-low .382 field-goal percentage (29-of-76) after going just 3-of-22 (13.6 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles shot at a 35.4 clip (23-of-65) and went 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) from three-point territory. The Vulcans held a 49-47 rebounding advantage and scored 44 points in the paint on Wednesday.
Clarion sophomore Gerald Jarmon scored a team-high 22 points on 7-of-19 from the floor and seven-of-nine from free-throw line. Graduate student Lawrence Lemon tallied 15 points behind four-of-seven from long range and nine rebounds, while senior Connor Ferrell collected 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
The Vulcans return to action on Saturday, Jan. 22, when they travel to face No. 11 Mercyhurst in Erie, Pennsylvania, at 3 p.m.
