CALIFORNIA (Jan. 5) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team raced out to a 17-point lead midway through the first half on Wednesday evening before suffering an 84-71 loss to No. 10 IUP to open Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action at the Convocation Center.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 8-4 overall and hold a 3-3 mark in league play. Cal U also closed out a five-game homestand, which started on Dec. 15, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the two-time, defending-PSAC Champion Crimson Hawks improve to 11-1 this season behind a 5-1 record in conference action.
Senior
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) and junior
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) tied for the team lead with 17 points, as all five starters for the Vulcans again scored in double-digits. Pegram shot 6-of-11 from the floor and added six rebounds and two assists, while Collins made 8-of-14 from the field and tallied four rebounds and three steals while playing all 40 minutes.
Sophomore
Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) registered another double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds (four offensive), plus registered three blocks. Senior
Preston Boswell (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) finished with 16 points and four rebounds, while freshman
Bryson Lucas (Clarksburg, W.Va./Robert C. Byrd) totaled 10 points, five rebounds, four blocks and two steals.
Cal U opened the game on a 15-5 run following a jumper by Collins at the 15:43-mark. The Vulcans later scored nine-consecutive points over three minutes with dunks by Alston and Lucas to stretch the lead to 29-12 with 9:14 left in the first half. IUP then rallied off seven of the next 10 points to trim the deficit to 32-19 at the 6:38-mark. The Crimson Hawks later closed the half on a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to single digits, 40-31, at the break.
The Vulcans scored the initial basket of the second half before the Crimson Hawks mounted a 16-3 run over five minutes to claim the lead at 47-45 with 14:34 left to play. Cal U then scored six of the next nine points to reclaim the lead at 51-50 at the 11:49-mark before IUP responded with eight-straight points to take a 58-51 lead with 10:12 remaining. The Vulcans cut the deficit to 58-56 before the Crimson Hawks later posted an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 72-62 at the 3:00-mark. Cal U trailed by six points in the final minute before IUP sealed the victory by converting seven-of-eight from the free-throw line.
Cal U finished the game shooting 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the floor while going just 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, IUP shot at a 40.9 clip (27-of-66) from the field and converted 14-of-35 (40.0 percent) from long range. The Crimson Hawks held a 42-36 rebounding advantage while holding the Vulcans to under 80 points for only the second time this season.
Sophomore Ethan Porterfield, the 2020 PSAC West Freshman of the Year, scored a game-high 23 points behind five-of-seven from beyond the arc and added eight rebounds and three blocks. Junior Dave Morris posted 22 points on 5-of-12 from long range and classmate Armoni Foster collected a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists.
The Vulcans return to action with their first road game in over a month on Saturday, Jan. 8, when they travel to face Pitt-Johnstown at 3 p.m.
