CALIFORNIA (Feb. 28) – Junior Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) registered a double-double on Monday evening, as the Vulcans earned a 72-55 victory over Slippery Rock at the Convocation Center in the first round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team improves to 21-8 this season. Cal U advances to face top-seeded IUP in the quarterfinals of the league tournament on Wednesday, March 2, at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, The Rock finishes the year with a 17-12 overall record while making a fifth-consecutive appearance in the PSAC Tournament.

Collins posted his third double-double of the year on Monday, as he finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 7-of-15 from the floor and added four assists while playing 37 minutes. Collins averaged 18.3 points on 20-of-41 shooting in three meetings versus Slippery Rock this season.

Sophomore Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) scored 24 points on 10-of-12 from the field in the victory. He also collected six rebounds (four offensive), two assists, one steal and one block in 31 minutes. Alston became the ninth player in school history to score at least 600 points in a season, as he ranks seventh in program history with 621 points this year. The Ohio native also moved into seventh place in single-season school history with 308 rebounds.

Senior Preston Boswell (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) set a season high with seven assists and added six points and three rebounds. Freshman Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) and senior Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr) both finished with nine points in the win. Palek collected three rebounds and two assists, while Pegram tied his career high of 11 rebounds.

The Rock scored the opening basket of the game before the Vulcans posted a 13-4 run to take a 13-6 lead on a layup by Alston with 14:33 left in the first half. Slippery Rock responded with a 12-6 rally over five minutes to trim the deficit to 19-18 at the 8:39-mark. The Vulcans later closed the first half on a 13-5 run over four minutes to take a 42-33 lead on a jumper by Alston at the break.

Early in the second half, Cal U mounted a 12-3 rally to take a 53-38 lead following a layup by Alston with 14:09 remaining. The Vulcans later posted a 10-3 run behind six points from Collins to stretch the lead to 66-45 with 8:35 left to play. Both teams were held scoreless for nearly three minutes before Slippery Rock scored eight of 10 points to trim the deficit to 68-53 at the 2:13-mark. Alston closed the game with pair of dunks in the final 90 seconds after the Vulcans were limited to just a single field goal in a span of seven minutes.

The Vulcans finished the game shooting 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the floor after going 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) from long range. Meanwhile, Slippery Rock posted a .339 field-goal percentage (21-of-62) behind 9-of-35 (25.7 percent) from three-point territory. Both teams finished registered 38 rebounds, while Cal U scored 18 second-chance points and committed just seven turnovers. The Vulcans also totaled 17 assists on 30 field goals in the win.

Junior Amante Britt led The Rock with 14 points and added five rebounds and three assists. Graduate student Frankie Hughes finished with 12 points behind 4-of-12 from beyond the arc and six rebounds, while junior Jonathan McFall collected eight points and eight rebounds.

The Vulcans continue play in the PSAC Tournament on Wednesday when they travel to face IUP at 7 p.m. The Crimson Hawks swept the regular-season series against the Vulcans this year despite Cal U holding a double-digit lead during the first half of both games.