CALIFORNIA (Feb. 21) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team were unable to overcome a double-digit deficit in the second half on Monday night and suffered an 87-81 loss against Slippery Rock at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 19-7 overall with a 14-6 mark in league play. The Vulcans sit fourth in the divisional standings with two games left in the regular season. Meanwhile, The Rock extends its winning streak to five games and improves to 16-10 this season behind a 12-8 record in conference action.
Sophomore
Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) finished with a team-leading 24 points (22 second half) after going 8-of-12 from the floor and six-of-seven from the charity stripe in the second half. He also collected 14 rebounds (five offensive) and two steals while playing all 40 minutes. Alston, who registered his 15th double-double this year, moved into a tie with Alioune Mbaye (2007-08) for ninth place in single-season school history with 276 rebounds.
Senior
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) and junior
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) both scored 18 points in the losing effort. Collins shot 7-of-14 from the floor and added five rebounds, while Pegram totaled five rebounds and seven assists. Freshman
Bryson Lucas (Clarksburg, W.Va./Robert C. Byrd) posted nine points, four rebounds and two steals while playing 18 minutes off the bench. Senior
Preston Boswell (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) tallied seven points, five rebounds and five assists on Monday.
Cal U raced out to a 13-4 lead at the 16:45-mark of the first half after making a trio of three-pointers in the opening three-plus minutes. The Rock later mounted a 9-2 run to trim the deficit to 22-21 with 11:39 left before the Vulcans scored eight of nine points to claim a 30-22 lead on a traditional three-point play by Collins with 9:56 remaining in the first half. Slippery Rock responded with a 17-4 run over nearly eight minutes to seize a 39-34 lead at the 1:50-mark. The teams traded a three-pointer in the final 90-plus seconds of the first half, as The Rock held a 42-37 lead at the break.
The Rock stretched the lead to double-digits at 52-42 in the opening four minutes of the second half before the Vulcans mounted a 12-3 rally – all by Alston and Collins – to trim the deficit to 55-54 at the 12:53-mark. Slippery Rock scored eight of the next 10 points to stretch the lead to 63-56 with 9:15 left to play in the contest. Alston then sparked a 9-2 run, as Cal U tied the score at 65-65 with 6:11 remaining. The Rock countered with eight-unanswered points to claim a 73-65 lead at the 3:41-mark, as the Vulcans were held without a field goal for nearly four minutes. Cal U later trailed by a 73-71 margin before Slippery Rock preserved the lead by converting 14-of-16 free-throws over the final two-plus minutes of the contest.
Cal U finished the game shooting 40.8 percent (31-of-76) from the floor despite going just 1-of-17 from beyond the arc in the second half. Meanwhile, Slippery Rock posted a .444 field-goal percentage (28-of-63) and converted 21-of-26 (80.8 percent) from the free-throw line. The Rock held a 43-41 rebounding advantage, while the Vulcans scored 21 second-chance points.
Senior Tyler Fredrick paced Slippery Rock with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting and collected 13 rebounds. Graduate student Frankie Hughes – a San Diego transfer - scored 23 points (17 first half) behind 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, while junior Jonathan McFall finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
The Vulcans return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 23, when they host Mercyhurst on Senior Day at 7:30 p.m.
