INDIANA, Pa. (March 13) – The third-seeded California University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team mounted a furious 24-3 run in the second half to earn a 67-65 win over seventh-seeded West Virginia State on Sunday evening in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex.

With the victory, the Vulcans improve to 23-9 this season and advance to the Atlantic Regional Championship to face top-seed and host IUP on Tuesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. Cal U returns to regional championship for the first time since 2008 and the seventh time in program history. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets finish the year with 24-8 overall record while making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in over a decade.

Senior Brent Pegram (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) led the team with 18 points behind three-of-eight from beyond the arc. He added four rebounds and four assists while playing 39 minutes. Pegram also climbed to No. 14 on the school's single-season scoring list with 541 points this year in the victory.

Sophomore Philip Alston (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North) and freshman Keith Palek III (Woodbine, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) both recorded double-doubles against the Yellow Jackets. Alston scored 12 points (10 second half) on 5-of-10 shooting and collected 10 rebounds (four offensive), two assists and four steals, which tied a career high. The Ohio native also climbed to third on the school's single-season scoring list with 682 points, surpassing both Delmer Beshore and Dana Zajicek on Sunday. Palek registered 10 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year.

Freshman Bryson Lucas (Clarksburg, W.Va./Robert C. Byrd) added 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes off the bench. Junior Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) finished with 10 points, three rebounds, five assists and a career-high six steals in the win.

WVSU held its largest lead of the game at 51-37 with 13:49 remaining before Cal U seized control of the contest. The Vulcans then held the Yellow Jackets without a field goal for nearly seven minutes while mounting a 16-1 run to take a 53-52 lead with 7:09 remaining. Alston and Lucas sparked the rally with a pair of highlight dunks within a span of one minute. Trailing 54-53, Cal U posted a 12-3 rally after shooting five-of-six from the floor over three minutes to take a 65-57 lead on a jumper by Pegram at the 3:28-mark. The Yellow Jackets then posted an 8-2 run in less than two minutes to cut the deficit to 67-65 with 1:31 left to play. WVSU missed a pair of shots on its next possession before Palek collected a rebound with 36 seconds remaining. The Yellow Jackets blocked the ensuing shot by the Vulcans, resulting in a shot clock violation with 11 seconds left in the second half. With a foul to give before one-and-one, Boswell fouled WVSU about 30 feet from the basket with six seconds remaining to force an inbounds pass. On the final shot of the game, Palek contested a Yellow Jacket three-pointer and Alston grabbed the rebound as time expired.

The Vulcans scored the opening nine points of the game behind a trio of three-pointers before the Yellow Jackets called a timeout at the 17:27-mark. WVSU countered with seven-straight points in just over one minute to cut the deficit to 9-7 with 15:56 left to play. Cal U snapped a three-plus minute scoreless drought with 10-unanswered points to take a 19-9 lead on a fastbreak dunk by Collins with 11:51 remaining before the break. Cal U later tallied six of eight points to hold a 25-13 lead with 8:41 left in the first half. The Yellow Jackets seized control of the first half with a 17-0 run over five-plus minutes, claiming a 30-25 lead at the 2:58-mark. Cal U eventually snapped a nine-minute drought without a field goal with 1:43 remaining on a layup by Lucas. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half with WVSU holding a 34-29 lead at the break.

Cal U was held scoreless in the opening three minutes of the second half, as WVSU built a 40-29 lead at the 17:25-mark. The Vulcans made their initial field goal of the half with 15:33 remaining and cut the deficit to 43-36 on a pair of free-throws by Palek with 15:00 remaining. The Yellow Jackets then scored six of the next eight points to take their largest lead of the game at 51-37 with 13:49 left to play. Cal U started the game-changing rally with a putback dunk by Alston at the 11:27-mark.

The Vulcans shot nearly 50 percent in the second half before finishing the game with a .390 field-goal percent (23-of-59). Cal U also converted 15-of-20 (75.0 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets made 36.9 percent (24-of-65) from the floor, including 9-of-29 (31.0 percent) from long range. The Vulcans finished with a 43-38 rebounding advantage and scored 24 points off turnovers.

WVSU senior Glen Abram scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-20 shooting, including 4-of-11 from beyond the arc, and added seven rebounds. He ranks as the active career scoring leader in the Atlantic Region with 2,057 points. Sophomore Anthony Pittman finished with nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and six steals in the effort.

Cal U will face IUP in the Atlantic Regional Championship on Tuesday at the Kovalchick Complex with tip-off set for 7 p.m. The Crimson Hawks advanced to the regional final with a 58-55 win over fourth-seeded Mercyhurst in the second round.

Notes: The Vulcans have advanced to the regional championship for the seventh time in program history (1988, 1992, 1994-96, 2008) … Cal U and IUP met in the regional final for three-consecutive years from 1994-96 … The Vulcans faced West Virginia State for the first time in at least 40 years … Head coach Danny Sancomb holds a 4-3 record over four appearances in the NCAA Tournament … Cal U will be facing IUP for the fourth time this season, including the third meeting at the Kovalchick Complex