ERIE, Pa. (Feb. 26) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team closed the regular season with an 87-83 loss at Gannon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 20-8 overall behind a 15-7 mark in league play to finish the season fourth in the divisional standings. Cal U will now face Slippery Rock in the first round of the PSAC Tournament on Monday, Feb. 28. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights improve to 14-12 this season with an 11-11 record in conference action.
Sophomore
Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) scored a game-high 26 points after shooting 12-of-16 from the floor. He also collected 16 rebounds (four offensive) while playing all 40 minutes on Saturday. Alston now ranks ninth in single-season school history with 597 points, while becoming only the ninth player in program history to collect 300 rebounds in a season.
Senior
Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) finished with 19 points behind three-of-six from beyond the arc and eight-of-eight from the free-throw line. He added three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the loss. Junior
Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) totaled 15 points and four assists, while freshman
Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) registered 12 points on four-of-seven from long range, plus three rebounds and three assists.
The teams combined for 10 lead changes and five ties in the first half on Saturday. Alston scored the opening two baskets of the game before Gannon scored seven-straight points to take a 7-4 lead at the 17:51-mark. The Vulcans countered with a 9-4 run to claim a 13-11 lead on a layup by Alston with 13:44 left before halftime. Cal U later held a 29-26 lead following a pair of free-throws by Pegram with 6:09 remaining in the first half before being held without a field goal over the final three minutes before the break. The Golden Knights scored in the closing 30 seconds to enter halftime trailing by a 39-36 margin.
Gannon started the second half on a 14-4 run to take a 50-43 lead with 16:09 remaining before Cal U scored on a dunk by Alston and three-pointer by Palek in a span of just over 30 seconds. The Golden Knights countered with eight-unanswered points to stretch the lead to double-digits, 58-48, at the 12:20-mark. The Vulcans later mounted a 12-2 run over three minutes to reclaim the lead at 70-69 on a pair of free-throws by Pegram with 4:40 left to play. Following a jumper by Collins one minute later, Gannon posted an 11-4 rally to hold an 83-78 lead with 48 seconds remaining. The Vulcans cut the deficit to 83-81 following a three-pointer by Pegram on the next possession, but were unable to collect a rebound on a missed shot with 10 seconds left to play and the Golden Knights converted a pair of free-throws to seal the victory.
Cal U shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the floor and converted 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Gannon made 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field and went 21-of-27 (77.8 percent from the charity stripe. The Vulcans held a 32-30 rebounding advantage and scored 20 fastbreak points in the contest.
Sophomore Lance Amir-Paul led the Golden Knights with 24 points after making four-of-eight from beyond the arc and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line. Classmate Demetrius Mims registered 18 points and eight rebounds, while junior Braden Olsen finished with 14 points and five assists.
The Vulcans open play in the PSAC Tournament on Monday against Slippery Rock at 6 p.m. The teams split the series in the regular season with the road team winning each time.
